The first Tak title launched on all three
major formats in 2004 to much appreciation from the industry – a refreshing look at
creating a “kids” game that adults could enjoy. With humour akin to The Simpsons both adults and children could find
enjoyment in the platforming romp. One year later, Nickelodeon and THQ have joined forces
once more to bring the twisted tales of Tak back
to your PlayStation2.
Before I begin I must state that, not through spite or neglect,  I missed the first instalment in the series, Tak and the Power of Juju. Entering Tak2: The Staff of Dreams with a vague suggestion
of the game’s ideals was not too much of a chore. A series of elegant cut scenes
bring you up to speed with what little you actually need
to know of the story before shooting you straight into some twisted
developers-mushroomed-brain affair of a level. This hallucinogenic-inspired world is known
as the Dream World, and acts as a pre-determined warp-point to a “Dark World”
system within the title’s level structure. As Tak
you are bounded back and forth between a world within Tak’s, followed by a visit to the Dream World,
followed by a world with Tak’s – a
system which, although not wholly original nor seemingly born of desire, works
effectively.
The level design at first is rather dull – jumping between a few platforms,
bashing a few enemies and repeat. This improves drastically after a couple of levels and Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams begins to make it marks
once some abilities have been earned. Puzzles are often generic, but as the game
progresses a couple of head-scratchers will begin to creep in. The game’s interaction
with animals determines most of the set-pieces, and comedy elements are often bountiful,
but the last few levels are hindered by the common awkward-placement of platforms,
creating incredibly difficult jumps which, considering this is a Platform title, isn’t exactly one of Tak’s most solid moves. Having said this, I
can’t say that Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams
particularly does anything wrong, it just often
falls into the generic-platforming field without battering an eye-lid.
The title’s graphics are a blessing. For a seemingly average launch, Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams  actually pushes the
boundaries of the PlayStation2’s effect’s capabilities more than many recent AAA
releases. There is little to no pop-up and minimal bugging. It seems that every detail of
the game’s environment has been brushed over to make sure it’s a least
competent, and at best quite dazzling. The sound quality is also quite credible, with the
cut-scenes actually containing some laugh-out-loud gags and Shrek-esque visuals they’re never less than
entertaining.
The game’s multi-player feature is, unfortunately, not quite up to speed.
While being an enjoyable departure from the main game, it doesn’t warrant purchase in
itself – and with so many multi-player dominant titles hitting the shelves, when the
friends arrive I can’t see this staying in the system for too long. Again, it’s not like Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams actually does anything wrong, with a large variety of mini-games
unlockable and all being competent, there’s just too much competition for your time.
While it seems that every good feature of the title can be placed with a let-down
alongside, there’s no escaping that Tak2: The
Staff of Dreams is actually a good game. It
offers little that you can’t find elsewhere, dips into the average territory a bit
too often and doesn’t try to defend itself – it just keeps joking around! If
Platform gaming’s your thing, you haven’t had it this good in a while, but
considering this is billed as a “kids” game, many may find the later levels a
little too challenging, or annoying.  |
