Let’s face it. Woody Woodpecker isn’t exactly the hottest commodity on the market. He ranks about a notch or two above Chilly Penguin. This game is pretty much your standard side-scrolling platformer. There’s jumping, shooting and pecking and not a whole lot else.
They took about as much time on the story as anything else. As far as I can tell, the primary goal of the game is to find Woody’s remote control. Not exactly the highest of stakes. For those well versed in the lore of the woodpecker, there are plenty of visits from familiar faces.
I found the first level incredibly annoying. The music seared itself onto my brain in the most excruciating of fashions. But to make matters worse, it was impossible to figure out what I was supposed to do to complete the level. It was nothing more than in and out of doors and up and down levels with regenerating foes. The logic required to figure it out is somewhere this side of idiot savant–emphasis on idiot. I predict that a lot of people will shelve the game before they even finish the first level. I kid you not; I completed this game by accident. You’ll most likely feel that way about most of the game.
The controls are sloppy at best. The game really falls apart when you try to make a non-projectile based attack. It’s virtually impossible to kick or peck an enemy without taking on damage. I would have found this incredibly frustrating if I could have mustered the energy to care. The only real high point of the game is the graphics. I appreciate the level of detail and the use of color. I just would have appreciated it more on a better game.
The problem with reviewing games is that you can’t put down the really tedious ones. All the while you’re playing, you’re saying to yourself, “Life is just too short,” but you feel a sense of obligation to suffer through it for your readers, knowing all the while that none of them will drop you a line saying, “Hey, thanks man. I really appreciate you playing that game so that I don’t have to.” It’s a thankless existence. What makes it even more difficult to bear is knowing how few people will actually even read this review because it is Woody Woodpecker. I guess I’d better tie this review up before it becomes any more of an exercise in self-pity. This is not the worst game I’ve ever played, and some very young children might actually enjoy it, that is if they had any idea who the heck Woody Woodpecker was.