Absolute PlayStation

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Emperors New Groove
"I found the Emperor's New groove to be an entertaining and amusing game and would recommend it for the beginner type gamer or youngsters."
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Developer  Argonaut Game Type  Platform
Distributor  Sony Review Date  Dec 00
 
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Review:
 
The Emperor's perfect little world has just been rocked!! Yea, you guessed it, a woman was behind this mess. The Emperor, Kuzco, will set on a journey thru his mythical mountain kingdom, llama style, and try to reclaim his throne. Maybe learn a few lessons along the way too.

There is a cool story behind this gameplay and it is based on the upcoming Disney movie "The Emperor's New Groove". Kuzco, who is the main character, is an Emperor who was accidentally turned into a Llama by this evil Sorceress named Yzma. Yzma's plan backfired because she really meant to put Kuzco to sleep permanently. Why you ask? As everyone knows, there is nothing worse than a woman scorned; Yzma was pissed because Kuzco fired her. Well to make a long story simple, Yzma had to cover up her goof, so she told the other villagers that Kuzco was gone. In reality, Kuzco was let loose in the village to live the rest of his life as a miserable four legged spitter.

Let me introduce the cast. Kuzco is a very sarcastic, selfish, and cocky type, not to mention pretty damn amusing. He is determined to make his way back home and get transformed back to his crude handsome self. Along his adventure he was lucky to stumble upon a new friend named Pacha. Pacha is a big, jolly, and good-hearted soul who has pledged to help Kuzco on his mission. The man is a saint to want to help this nasty llama. Pacha has a son named Tipo and a daughter named Chaca. They show up here and there to give gameplay hints to Kuzco. So take the time to chat with them. Yzma, "witchy woman" and Kronk, the no brains all brawn associate are the villains in this story.

The game is segmented into a variety of levels, which are divided into chapters. Throughout the chapters there are checkpoints. Reaching the checkpoints are important if you don't want to start all over every time you run out of health. You need to finish a chapter before going to the next. After completing a chapter you can always go back to it to make sure you didn't miss any secrets or coins. The object is to collect all the items you can such as coins, potions, idols, grapes, and Wampies to help you thru the game. Kuzco has a variety of capabilities sporting around as a llama; such as picking up and smashing pottery ooh..ahh! spitting which is my personal favorite, kicking, running, jumping, charging, and a nifty karate type kick which is a good tactic for fighting. For those of you wondering why the hell you need to collect grapes, SPITTING of course.

To put a twist on things, Kuzco will have to accomplish tasks while taking forms of different species. Just when you have mastered the Llama moves, you will need to acquire skills as a turtle (so freaking slow!!), a frog, and a silly Wabbit.

The graphics were decent, the characters and scenes were definitely Disney style. I like the fact that movie clips were added, this gave the game some perspective. The characters appearance matched their personalities perfectly.

Some of the characters voices will sound very familiar to you. The fun was trying to figure out who they are. Each character also has a variety of sayings so you don't get bored hearing the same things over again. Gamers of all ages should find these features enjoyable.

Features:
 
· Thrills of the animated movie

· Participate in challenging races

· Solve intricate puzzles

· Bonus activities

Options:
 
• Number of Disks: 1
• Number of blocks used on Memory card per save: 1
• Maximum number of Players (without a multi-tap): 1
• Multi-tap compatible (max players): No
• Link-cable compatible (max players): No
• Split screen multi-player option (max players): No
• Other accessories: None
• Dual Shock Pad Digital Button compatible: Yes
• Dual Shock Pad Analog Stick compatible: Yes
• Dual Shock Pad Vibration compatible: Yes
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Summary
Loretta   "I have to say Kuzco is a riot. He is slick, rude, and full of himself, my kind of guy! I loved his humorous, sarcastic wisecracks. There is plenty of humor written in the script to keep you smiling. The game has the quality characteristics you would expect from a Disney presentation. On the down side, the levels were simplified and in my opinion, could of used a little more depth. It reminded me of an extremely simplified version of the N64 Mario game. The more experienced gamer could master and finish this game pretty quickly.

Overlooking the downsides I mentioned, I found the Emperor's New groove to be an entertaining and amusing game and would recommend it for the beginner type gamer or youngsters. Being a kid at heart, I am looking forward to seeing the new movie. What the hey, be Emperor for a day, a week, or a month!! "
Graphics  15/20
Playability  35/50
Sound  9/10
Lastability  15/20
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