Tonic Trouble

Nostradamus predicted that the end of the world would come in three terrible waves. He was wrong. The end of the world is going to come as a direct result of the upset stomach of a small purple-skinned alien called Ed. Scary, huh? Yes, just when you thought things couldn't get any worse the Earth faces one more dire threat – from a can of tonic. It seems that during a particularly lively cleaning spree Ed, the space-going equivalent of the office janitor, sampled the contents of a strange can (as of course you do – we're always drinking half-empty cans of cola that we find lying around at work). The contents of said can – a strange alien tonic – have a rather unfortunate effect on Ed's gastric regions and the resultant projectile vomit causes a hatch to open. Before you can say 'I don't remember eating all that carrot!' the can of tonic is ejected into space to spiral ominously towards Earth.

Soon the entire planet is covered by the strange contents of the cosmic container, and some weird and not-really-very-wonderful effects ensue. Vegetables and animals begin to mutate, waterfalls start to flow the wrong way and everything gets generally a little bit wacky.

Uh Oh...

Almost before Ed's had the opportunity to shut the rogue hatch in his spacecraft he receives a message from Earth, specifically from Agent XYZ, leader of the Earth resistance. This enigmatic chap tells Ed that there is an antidote to the tonic but the resistance have their hands full and it's up to Ed to come down and sort things out. Which is where the game begins.

After a short cut-scene, in which Ed makes a rather bumpy landing at the top of a mountain, it's time for you to assume control. The first task of the day is to get Ed down onto level ground and for this he improvises a makeshift sledge. Cue a bizarre 1080°-style rollercoaster ride down the sheer face of an icy peak, collecting elements of the antidote along the way!

Once you've safely reached the bottom of the slope the main part of the game begins. However, as there are 20 pieces of the antidote scattered down the mountainside and you need to collect every piece in the game before you can complete it, the chances are (unless you were particularly lucky on your first run) that you're going to need to come back to the sledding again at some later date. Your task for now though is to make contact with members of the Earth resistance and rescue the Doc, a rather eccentric inventor whose technical skills are essential to Ed's success.

...We're In Trouble!

Tonic Trouble is a 3-D adventure game in the same vein as Banjo-Kazooie and the rather ghastly A Bug's Life, with the emphasis firmly on puzzle-solving. Once you've rescued the Doc there are then six different tasks that you need to complete, each of which involves finding various components for a machine which will grant you access to the fortress where the tonic can is being kept.

A Shooting Stick!

The first item which Ed gets is also the most important, as it's incredibly versatile. The stick allows Ed to do a variety of things including shooting. To get your eye in you need to take Ed to a firing range and shoot a few weird targets like vicious-looking ducks and some bizarre over-inflated sheep.

Although you can wander around the land of Tonic Trouble more or less as you please, the gameplay itself is fairly linear. When you start the game, Ed is a fairly useless character who can jump and run and... that's about it. He has no offensive capabilities whatsoever until he finds his all-important stick. With the stick Ed can activate switches, control machinery, hit monsters and even shoot projectiles. In addition to the mighty stick, after each successful mission Ed gains a new ability, ranging from flight to shape changing. With each new talent a new area opens up, and to further complicate matters there are certain things in some sections of certain levels which can only be tackled once you've completed the rest of that area and gained a new power. In this way, you have to visit most areas at least twice and thus the longevity of the game increases.

The puzzles in the game are, on the whole, fairly simplistic in design. They usually involve moving a block to a specific location, shooting a number of targets or something else equally basic. It's probably fair to say that Tonic Trouble is aimed at a considerably younger audience demographic than a title like Shadow Man, as evidenced by both the cartoony nature of the graphics and animation as well as the difficulty level of the game itself. That's not to say that this game isn't going to appeal to older players – the visual humour is fairly adult-oriented, and while the gameplay isn't going to have you up night after night sweating to get past a specific section, it's pretty damn tricky in places. This comes down to the antidotes. While it's not that difficult to move through each of the different levels and make it to the end, it's somewhat more tricky to get through each level in one piece having collected all the items that you need. In general, while the route through each section is fairly simple, many of the all-important antidote pieces – which you must collect in order to reverse the effect of the tonic and restore normality to the planet – are situated in hard-to-reach or hazardous areas.

One of the best things about Tonic Trouble is the variety in the gameplay. While the major part of the game could be described as a 3-D platformer there are also a lot of other gameplay styles mixed in to good effect. Flying, swimming and shooting sections are all on offer and each new area in the game is usually fairly different to the last, which prevents things from getting boring.

Another pretty cool thing about Tonic Trouble is Ed himself. The little purple alien absolutely exudes personality and is incredibly amusing to watch. As he makes his way through the strange warped world, Ed runs the full gamut of emotions from scared through bored to ridiculously happy. If you leave him alone without pausing the game he'll do something fairly wacky and one neat touch is the way he encourages you to keep trying. Climb up a particularly tricky set of platforms, for example, and when you reach the top Ed will do a little celebratory dance and punch the air in jubilation. While this might sound a little daft, it means that you get the feeling that you've accomplished something even on the short sections within a level.

Purple Haze

The only real problem with Tonic Trouble is down to the camera. It can be a bit of a pain at times when you're trying to move fast and it did result in one or two tumbles into ravines when it failed to adjust fast enough to reveal the drop in time. That said though, the camera system has come on a long way since the preview versions of the game and shouldn't prove too annoying for the most part. Just one thing, though. You get three camera options – Static, Dynamic and One Second. With Dynamic the camera moves around to track you and with One Second it does the same but waits a second after you've stopped moving before it shifts, thus preventing the controls going all awkward when the perspective changes. Now you'd think that Static would mean not-moving wouldn't you? But it doesn't! If anything, the camera jumps around more than when it's set on Dynamic! Perhaps the options lost a little something in the translation from French...

Tonic Trouble is a fairly challenging, extremely enjoyable, slightly wacky 3-D graphic adventure that should appeal to gamers of all ages. If you're looking for the most challenging game on the N64 then this probably isn't it, but if you're looking for one of the most fun and humorous titles so far then you're definitely on the right track.

Remember a while back when a game called HED was in Protos? Well. HED is now called Tonic Trouble, a game by Ubi Soft (makers of Rayman and other titles). Ubi plans on taking full advantage of the Nintendo 64 hardware with this new title which has its main character trying to clean up a toxic mess he accidentally created on Earth. Because of the green liquid he let loose on the planet, life and land on Earth mutates. Although it may sound menacing. Tonic Trouble is a fun title.

Designed by the primary creator of Rayman, Tonic Trouble is already starting to show compelling designs of distinctiveness that made the aforementioned game find a niche of its own.

Tonic Trouble's plot revolves around an alien named Ed who drops a mysterious can onto Earth. Havoc ensues, and mutations of plants and animals break out throughout the planet. Seeking to fix the problems that he created Ed must explore and fight enemies with a variety of weapons. As you can see from these screens, this game shows promise. Rest assured, we'll do a more in-depth preview as soon as we get some more info.

Emanating from the same French development house as the soon-to-be-unveiled PlayStation shooting fest POD, Ubi Soft's third quarter action/adventure, ED, was this month finally given some daylight to bathe in.

Although relatively little was revealed, the game looks and plays in a similar style to Ubi Soft's 32-bit platformer, Ray Man, with strapping great comical characters tearing about the place, multi-coloured backdrops and a light-hearted storyline involving the square-jawed tomfoolery of the lad ED.

And the rumour that it may appear via the much-talked-of 64DD was neither confirmed nor denied by the enigmatic Ubi Soft.

The game's appearance at America's E3 show in June should provide a motorway of concrete detail.

One of the first games released for the N64 was Mario World which was a platform game that involved expansive worlds and great gameplay. Ever since way back in 1995 when this was released, there have been a number of games that have tried to imitate this formula or put their spin on it. Well, nearly five years later, Mario is still one of the best and the imitators still just can't seem to get it right.

Enter Ed and Tonic Trouble. Ed is a janitor who lives someplace in space. While cleaning, he accidentally drops a can of Tonic onto the Earth, which caused a bunch of freaky things to happen to the humans and plants. Ed is sent to Earth to find the Tonic and fix all of the damage. It turns out that the Tonic has fallen into the hands of the evil Grogh who has now declared him as the ruler of the Earth. Ed's first task is to find the wacky professor and then work together to save the Earth.

Gameplay

Nice story but what it all amounts to is that this is a platform game that follows the old, run, jump, gain extra powers to try and make it to the end of levels all while collecting a number of items (coins, rings, etc.). This game has you collecting numerous different items throughout the levels, one of which looks like little Dreamcast logos. I assume this game is aimed at younger gamers but I think the lack of originality will even turn them off.

I had really high hopes for this game. UBI Soft were the makers of the excellent game Rayman, one of the first PSX platform titles. They did such a great job creating a lush and beautiful world and interesting characters that I just knew Tonic Trouble would be good. While the game follows the same formula as most platform games, this one just feels average, plain, and been-there before.

Tonic Trouble is made up of different worlds, each containing different tasks and foes for you to beat. The main objective in all of the worlds is to collect various items but mostly to find the items that the professor has lost. These items are used to give Ed powers throughout the game. So what it boils down to is that you will spend your time running, jumping, shooting, swimming, and bouncing your way through slow developing levels.

As you make your way through the game and collect the items for the professor, you are awarded new powers. This was one of the few bright spots that kept me playing through the game. You will be awarded the blowpipe, which allows you to switch to a first person mode and shoot darts at targets and enemies. Next you will get the flying mode, which allows you to use your bow tie to fly. Then you will get deep swimming, which allows you to dive under water and swim. You will also get the pogo stick mode and chameleon mode. These new abilities helped to keep the game going but even they were not enough.

My biggest complaint with the game was the speed at which the action progressed. This game really just moved along at a snails pace. I felt like I was just sitting back riding a platform or waiting for something to happen the majority of the time. The action was very choppy and just when it started going, you would go for a ride on a platform or the section of the level would end, which took forever. I just had a real difficult time getting a rhythm down because of the overall pace of the game. I guess this might help out younger gamers but I have a feeling that they will grow impatient with it as well.

Another thing that bothered me about the game was the overall lack of originality. Okay, I know that video games have been around for quite a while and it is getting more and more difficult to come up with something original but come on. I really felt like nothing in this game had not been done before in another game. That in itself is alright but the fact that it doesn't do anything better than the original games is where I find the problems. If you are going to use tried and true methods, at least improve on them some.

Finally, this game is a 3D platform game and we all know what that means, right? Crappy camera control! Okay, so that is not entirely fair because there is one feature that I really did like with the camera control. If you hit the Z button, the camera will automatically swing behind you, which made things a little easier, but there are still some serious problems. There is a lot of precision jumping required and I can't tell you how many times I died because of the camera angles. There were times that I just could not tell if I needed to jump or step on a platform and there was no adjustment that would have made it any clearer. Also, the field of depth was just weird. You would go around corners and the camera would not follow or you would go up a hill and not be able to see anything ahead. I found myself craning my neck trying to see around corners and it just did not work. This made the game a real chore to play.

Graphics

This game looks like a Nintendo 64 game. The more and more I think about it, I consider this a negative rather than a positive. I don't know about you but most N64 games are starting to have a similar look to them. Blurry textures, fog, dull colors, etc. Tonic Trouble suffers from all of this. I think if this was a PSX game or a Dreamcast game, the graphics would have been much better but as it stands now, the graphics match the game; average and unoriginal.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a cutting edge game that has original gameplay then I suggest looking elsewhere. Of you want a game that feels flat and has a very familiar quality to it, thenTonic Trouble may be what you are looking for. I just had a really difficult time getting any sort of a flow going in the game. I think there are better games out there that play very similar to this. I just hope that they do a better job on Rayman 2 or else there are going to be some pretty disappointed people out there.

If you liked Rayman, you might want to check out Tonic Trouble, the latest game from the creators of the popular side-scroller. Fans will immediately see similarities between the two games, most noticeably that the main character in Tonic Trouble, Ed, doesn't have any appendages; he simply has floating white hands and feet--not entirely unlike Rayman. The biggest difference between the two titles, however, is that Rayman was a 2D side-scrolling platform game, and Tonic Trouble is a 3D action-adventure game.

The main character of the game is a Martian by the name of Ed, who accidentally unleashes a can of strange liquid that transforms Earth into a crazy psychedelic land of dangerous vegetables and creatures. He is sent to Earth as punishment to try to repair the damage. You control Ed as he explores 11 different areas (although the developers told us if you do really well you might find an extra, secret one).

Most of the levels are of the "jump from platform to platform, run along this ledge, hit the bad guy before he knocks you off" nature. Some of the stages, however, are specialized and feature different types of gameplay. The first level, for instance, has an incredibly fun snow race in which you careen down a mountain while riding on a Frisbee, all the while avoiding bottomless pits and other life-threatening obstacles. One of the other really cool levels is the Canyon Level. You have to use Ed's gliding ability for nearly the entire duration of the level, and you have to glide over air rises to get a boost to keep you from petering out over the lava. Besides gliding, Ed can learn several different tricks; most notable are his abilities to shoot enemies with a blowpipe, pogo-jump and whack enemies with a stick.

Visually, Tonic Trouble is very bright and colorful, with almost a Saturday-morning cartoon look to it. The game has some really nice water and lighting effects. The only thing Ubi Soft wants to improve before the game ships is the camera tracking and the control. Both are still a little sticky at this point.

In Tonic Trouble, you're Ed. a clumsy alien who dropped a can of mys terious tonic on Earth, causing ecological mutations and evil mayhem. You've been ordered back to clean up the mess, but the tonic has fallen into the hands of the sinister Grogh the Hellish--and it's up to you to stop him.

PUZZLE TROUBLES

Tonic plays like a 3D conversion of Super Mario Bros., offering compact subworlds with unique puzzle-oriented challenges rather than vast vistas of exploration. It's a large game, but mini-quests (like finding six springs in a sub-area) keep the challenges short and sweet. Ed even grows bigger and stronger, like Super Mario, through the use of popcorn.

Tonic's sparse visuals consist of enclosed spaces with uncomplicated textures. Despite impressive effects like electric bolts and glowing rivers, the overall look is resoundingly mediocre. Luckily, the cinematic score nicely sets the mood for each sub-level's motif while cool sound effects, from the battle cry of Super Ed to the thwip of your dart gun, cure some of Tonic's troubles.

CLUNKY CAMERA

As with most 3D platformers. Tonic has some severe camera problems, such as the Zelda-inspired instant-center feature which creates a camera "cut" rather than a pan, jarring your sense of spatial relations. Otherwise, the controls are responsive and adequate--though not as intuitive as Banjo-Kazooie's, Mario 64 s, or Zelda's. In feet, that sentiment just about sums up Tonic Trouble: This is a decent, inspired adventure, but not in the same league as Nintendo's heavyweights.

From the creators of Rayman comes another twisted, cartoony hero with gorgeous, detailed backgrounds and bright, engaging characters. Taking Mario-like action/adventure gaming to its hilt, Tonic Trouble introduces Ed, a happy-go-lucky alien who gets caught up in a plot to save Earth. With 10 worlds (split into different maps) that range from Egyptian pyramids to giant cooking pots, and over 40 different characters to encounter, Tonic looks like young fun.