Alpha and Omega (DS Review) by Branden M.

Alpha and Omega
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Storm City Games
System: Nintendo DS
Release: September 14, 2010

March 2, 2011, by Branden M. - Alpha and Omega the video game is the official companion to the new Crest Animation Studios movie, Alpha and Omega. Will this movie game set new standards for movie titles or is this yet another movie cash-in?

You play as Kate and Humphrey are two wolves from the same pack in Canada's Jasper National Park but on opposite ends of the social order. Kate is herself an Alpha and takes her duty to the pack seriously. Humphrey, on the other hand, is an Omega wolf, the lowest of the pack, and spends his days making jokes and playing about with his other Omega friends Shakey, Salty, and Mooch. Despite his low rank in the pack, Humphrey has a crush on Kate and is valued in the pack as a peacemaker by virtue of his affable nature.

The game is set into four main mini-games: Log Racing, Alpha Run, Goose Golf, and Howling.

Log Racing is a side-view, physics based simulation of sledding over hills and slopes with wolves on logs racing to escape their pursuers, pull off stunts for fun or just finish fastest. To accelerate press the "A" button, press "B" button to slow down.

In Alpha Run, Kate is on the run, viewed by the side, as you dictate when to jump and when to slow down or dash to navigate obstacles and chasms.You must collect pack members and lead them to the end of the run. or make the run in a time limit, all the while collecting cupcakes.

Goose Golf is a mash-up of mini-golf and pinball. Try to help marcel rack up the highest score by hitting as many collectibles and "points-of-interest" with his rock-ball while still getting into the whole with the least strokes.

Wolf Howling uses music rhythm game. Earn points for each not tapped with correct timing. Getting 10 notes in a row increases the point value of subsequent notes. It starts at 10 and can go up to 40. These mini games are repeated over and over to where, it is not fun anymore, just repetitive repeating the same 4 mini games 30 times each. leg Racing can be interesting at first, but rapidly gets very hard making the later levels very frustrating.

The presentation of the game is mediocre. The sprites are repeated quite a bit, leaving not some much variety. The menu system is clean somewhat while the leader boards are well for the most part.

The controls for the mini games are simple. The only one that could be a problem is Howling and Mini-golf, if the user can even get to that part. The mini games go up in difficulty way too fast, which makes it get very frustrating and repetitive doing the same mini game over and over again.

The Verdict

Sound
6/15 - Each minigame only has one piece of background music that plays on an infuriating loop. It all sounds unclear, as does the voice of the narrator.

Graphics
12/20 - Sprites are repeated quite a bit, leaving not some much variety.

Appeal
15/25 - While each minigame has some replay ability, the repetitiveness will cause many gamers and younger kids to get frustrated very easily.

Gameplay
15/40 - While at first some of the minigames are fun, the game will start repeating itself and become very repetitive very fast.

Overall
48/100 - Alpha and Omega has a decent storyline. This game however is unfortunately a movie cash-in title. The mini games frustrate the players to no end with constant repeating of mini games with rapidly increasing difficulty. With overly frustrating and repetitive mini games, mediocre presentation and little replay value. Alpha and Omega is a bad movie game that you should stay away from at its current price.