Curious George

It's hard not to love Curious George. He's all over the television and internet, presenting wholesome stories, loveable characters, and hilarious internet memes. It only makes sense to develop a game around the concept, considering the lore creates the perfect foundations for a platformer game. The famous monkey has become a cult icon for all ages - Namco figured we'd all give this game a try.

Then we have the matter if a Curious George game would actually be good or not. Considering that we aren't going to tear our favorite monkey apart - my guess is that not much effort will be put into development. Regardless, there are probably a few good laughs and some simple platforming mechanics to be had in the game. We have to give it a go.

Curiosity Encourages the Monkey

Did you know there was a Curious George movie released around the same time as this game? I certainly didn't. I thought this was a dedicated release to the franchise - this game was developed around the film concept. There you go - it's already set its rhyme and reason for being. That feels somewhat disappointing.

Disappointment aside - there's something both equally humorous and frustrating about Curious George. The game is meant for children, but the level of difficulty level for a platformer is high, even for adults. You'll have basic mechanics of running, jumping, climbing, and grappling. They will need to be executed precisely much of the time. While we can applaud the challenge, is anyone going to get any satisfaction out of this?

The colorful, cartoony visuals help make a cutesy gameplay style - but good lord, can this game get frustrating. The controls will feel stiff in the double jumps, making tasks very difficult to accomplish. Yes, there is a fair amount of variation and even impressive at some points - but its varying difficulty makes it incredibly inconsistent. And downright annoying.

The wholesome factor of Curious George disappears in the disjointed gameplay. Its obnoxious control schematics, misplaced cameras, and lackluster narrative create a mess of a game that should have been easy to produce. It feels like the game was designed by a hardcore platforming enthusiast tasked with dumbing it down to an audience they had no idea about.

By George, I Don't Think He's Got It!

Curious George is one of those games that could give adult players PTSD. Kids would probably give up at the difficulty - and where adults persist, they would get so frustrated that damage could be caused. The last time a kids platformer was this difficult to finish was Lion King - I still have nightmares about that game.

Pros:

• A challenging platformer that's can engage all ages
• Colorful and immersive visuals faithful to the franchise
• Enough variation to keep players entertained

Cons:

• The essential double-jump mechanic feels broken
• Frustratingly difficult at times
• The game does get repetitive with similar level styles