Deep breath time…Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force: Herbert’s Revenge. It’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it? Presumably somewhere there are parents muttering “is it that new penguin game?” – yes you’d be right, that’s exactly what it is. Club Penguin is big business it seems as a form of MMO for kids. It’s passed me by as I’m not under 12. So, having been assigned this game to review I consulted my resident expert: my 10 year old cousin. Turns out she doesn’t know anything about it either. She liked the game quite a bit though and I can see why.
Herbert’s Revenge is a point and click adventure for children and it’s full of charm and good will. You play a secret agent penguin that must stop the evil polar bear Herbert and his crab based sidekick Klutzy. Appearances are typically Disney in nature and all the characters are warm and cuddly. There is a selection of missions to navigate where – for the most part – players must hunt for various objects to solve basic puzzles. Considering you’re a secret agent penguin, there are also spy gadgets on hand to help such as decoder rings and the ever useful jet pack. Further to that, players can combine items to create things like grappling hooks. A decent help system is on hand to ensure that none of this feels particularly overwhelming for inexperienced players. Besides the simple puzzles, there are also a few mini-games available such as simple mazes and a Boulder Dash homage stage which was rather good fun.
It’s all a very innocent affair and quite fun too. The missions, while rarely taxing, are still charming and entertaining to complete. Each of the penguins are very reminiscent of typical Disney characters and it’s clear why kids would enjoy this world so much. It’s a shame then that there are signs of sloppiness in the way that Herbert’s Revenge has been designed.
Disappointingly for fans of the Club Penguin site, Herbert’s Revenge appears to be a direct conversion of the site’s games with many of the early missions being identical. Later missions are new but it’s a bit disappointing that a full price retail game offers levels that are already available for free elsewhere. I can’t see my 10 year old cousin feeling like she’s got her money’s worth here if she’d played it previously on the PC. Worst of all, one particular mission is badly glitched meaning that if you make a mistake and don’t take a grappling hook at the right moment, you’re forced to restart the game. Something that could have been easily fixed with some careful games testing. There’s also only one save file which is irritating if – in the case of my cousin – you have another younger gamer in the household who also wants to play the game.
It’s a shame as despite these few niggles, it’s good fun to play. The ability to acquire clothing items and coins that can then be used with a Club Penguin website account is a nice touch, although I’d strongly recommend playing this game before you play the levels available on the site.
Herbert’s Revenge isn’t like Toy Story 3 or LEGO Harry Potter – it’s not a game that adults would really reap any enjoyment from. For its target audience of 6-12 year olds however, it’s great. It’s big and colourful while never patronising them. It’s also ideal if your child is better at solving puzzles rather than reacting quickly to things. If only a little more polish had been added to the title and there were a few more new missions available.
VideogameUK verdict: 7/10
