About.com Rating



Like many a person who spent their formative years in the ’80s, I spent many an afternoon watching the original ThunderCats cartoon on TV. For animation lovers, ThunderCats was part of the pantheon of must-see shows of the time, which included the first-generation Transformers, Voltron, G.I. Joe and He-Man. Having just tapped into the nostalgia bucket with Pacman & Galaga Dimensions, Namco Bandai apparently also saw it fit to make a game revolving around the ThunderCats reboot.


Granted, the rose-colored glasses of my youth ensure that no modern reinterpretation would ever beat the original. Still, it’s always nice to see my beloved felines back.

As a fan of the IP, I was curious to see how the game portrayed the ThunderCats saga. Given the characters’ various abilities, I could definitely see the potential for a ThunderCats action game. I’m also a fan of classic beat-em-ups and hack-and-slash games so the developers’ decision to go in an old-school direction in terms of gaming genre was fine by me as well.

Storywise, the game follows a new ThunderCats tale, which starts with treachery and a lizard attack against the feline heroes. Soon, hero Lion-O joins the fray while brandishing the Sword of Omens, which is actually being targeted by the evil mastermind behind the lizard onslaught, Mumm-Ra. To deal with his foes, Lion-O can perform combos with his sword on the ground as well as a piercing attack from above. Successful attacks charge up his sword gauge, which adds extra bite to his attacks and also allows him to fire a powerful beam from the Sword of Omens.

Later on, he can also call on his fellow heroes (ThunderCats, Ho!) for either a quick attack or to get random items.

Although the premise sounds good, however, the execution isn’t quite up to Snarf, er, snuff. Just a few minutes into the game, the issues surrounding ThunderCats becomes quickly obvious. The most obvious one would be the graphics. They’re quite simple — perhaps too simple — and lean toward the plain side. Then again, graphics aren’t the be-all, end-all for yours truly. Some of the games I enjoyed most have graphics that aren’t exactly impressive, but the gameplay definitely made them worth playing. Unfortunately, ThunderCats is also lacking in that department. Lion-O’s combos are quite limited, causing the action to be quite repetitive after a while. The combat system also lacks flexibility, which opens you up to plenty of cheap hits from the enemy. Once you start a combo with Lion-O, for example, you can’t change directions, making you a sitting duck when dealing with groups of enemies. The ability to double jump and slide gives you some mobility but isn’t enough to overcome the stiffness of your basic attacks — something that becomes especially obvious if you’ve played games such as the excellent Code of Princess. The end result is that instead of being one with the controls, you’ll spend a lot of time feeling like you’re fighting them instead. Meanwhile, the simplicity of its game design gives off the vibe that ThunderCats is geared toward kids, which in itself isn’t a bad thing. After all, kids need to be catered to by the gaming industry as well. However, ThunderCats also can be quite a difficult game for the kids it’s trying to target. Dying during a boss battle also requires you to replay the entire stage again, and I can see many kids getting frustrated by this particular mechanic.

All these issues conspire to declaw what could have been a promising game. It’s too simple for folks looking for a serious hack-and-slash title but it’s too difficult for kids who don’t mind a simple-looking game. As such, it’s tough to figure out which audience is best suited for this game outside of the hardcore fans of the new ThunderCats.

Final rating: 2 stars out of 5

For more about gaming on the go, check out our Portable Gaming Hub.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.