Animaniacs Splat Ball

Release Date: October 30, 1999

Animaniacs Splat Ball

For kids only -- serious gamers need not apply.

Instead of "Hello Nurse!" Wakko, Yakko, and Dot should be calling out, "Hello Lawyer!" That's because in Animaniacs Splat Ball, SouthPeak Interactive has managed to remove all the humor and charm of the clever cartoon series. That's not to say that the game doesn't have its merits, but it's disappointing that SouthPeak completely ignored what should have been a strength of this game.

Animaniacs Splat Ball is a simple game of capture the flag aimed squarely at children. Adults and hardcore gamers shouldn't even give this game a first glance, much less a second look. It's unoriginal and has the feel of a game that was made on a small budget, but it's still a game that kids can enjoy. You play as Wakko, Yakko, and Dot against Ralph the Guard, Dr. Scratchansniff, and Thaddeus J. Plotz. The object is to run over to the other team's balloon, grab it, and bring it back to your team's balloon without getting hit five or six times by a paintgun. Every time you're successful, you score a point. Score enough points, you win the game. Win enough games and you'll progress from amateur to professional to all-star. Your ultimate goal is to be crowned the Sultan of Splat Ball.

The game is played from a top-down perspective and is not a first-person game. The controls are a bit awkward as a result, and feel a bit loose to boot. I never felt like I could aim with precision. There are a number of powerups available in the game, such as the super gun, vampire gun, laughing gas pellets, speed up, invisibility, and so on. The levels are movie sets, so one might have a western theme while another might sport sci-fi props. In a surprising touch of sophistication, you can reposition your bots (yes this game has bots -- the other two characters that you aren't controlling). They're about as dumb as anything you'll find on the underside of a rock, but they will stay in one area and run back and forth and shoot at interlopers. You can also switch to a map view to get quick overview of where things are. The game is also playable over a LAN or on Microsoft's Gaming Zone.

As an adult who enjoys the Animaniacs cartoon show, this game is disappointing. There's really nothing of interest in it, and SouthPeak Interactive couldn't be bothered to inject any humor into it beyond an occasional "Hello Nurse" and "Yakko spelled backwards is OK." I put it to the kid test, however, by turning my 8-year old twin boys loose on it. Now, being the permissive sparing-the-rod sort of parent I am, you have to understand that these boys were just coming off an Unreal Tournament jag. Can you say, "M-M-M Monster kill!" They love that game, as do I, so they know a little something about action games. So I was a bit surprised that they like Splat Ball as much as they do. I knew it would hold them for an hour or so, but they've come back to it daily over the last 4 or 5 days and played it again and again. They're after that crown! So it has their stamp of approval.

Ultimately, Animaniacs Splat Ball is a children's game that finds as its source of strength the capture the flag gameplay and not any clever design work on the part of SouthPeak Interactive. If you're looking for a non-violent game for a child that's a bit out of the ordinary, you may want to give this one a look. Everyone else should stay away.

-- Mark Asher

IGN Ratings for Animaniacs Splat Ball (PC)
You get a brief manual in the CD jewelcase and that's about it. The box is colorful and attractive.
2D graphics, but not as nice looking as the cartoon series.
You get a few character voiceover snippets and some muted weapon effects, but otherwise this game might as well be silent.
It's capture the flag, and it's hard to go wrong with that.
Lasting Appeal
There is no appeal here for hardcore gamers, and I suspect that even children will be bored of it within 2 weeks.
(out of 10, not an average)
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Game Details

Published by: SouthPeak Games
Developed by: Engineering Animation
Genre: Action
Release Date:
United States: October 30, 1999
UK: Released
Australia: Released
Japan: Unreleased
E for Everyone : Mild Animated Violence, Mild Realistic Violence
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