PlayStation 2

Herdy Gerdy

Every now and then a game comes along that is so original that it defies easy categorisation. Herdy Gerdy, developed by Tomb Raider creators Core design, is one such game. You have to make controlled jumps like a platform game; likewise you need to collect items to progress to the next areas, again like a platform game. But the actual meat of the game is much more similar to that of a puzzle game. In fact at its heart, this plays very much like a glorified version of that early nineties classic, Lemmings.

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself as a pleasant-natured shepherd-boy in an airy British glade, running about grassy hillocks, guiding groups of chickens and badgery whatzits into pens using your trusty stick. Oh, look out, young herder-in-training! A fuzzy pink bear has come to pilfer your poultry! Quickly, lad, play your pipe, lest the chickens be filched, and father grow weary of your shenanigans! Now open your eyes, take a deep breath, and be prepared for a shock: This premise actually makes for quite a compelling adventure game.

Un titre particulièrement réussi et qui s'adressera à un très large public. Herdy Gerdy mise sur l'originalité tant au niveau de son principe que de ces graphismes, ce qui ne manque pas de lui conférer un aspect tout à fait à part et dont on ne peut que se féliciter.

Schade, wirklich schade. Herdy Gerdy versucht erfolgreich, spielerisch neue Wege zu gehen und wird Freunde anspruchsvoller Puzzle-Adventure nicht nur auf Grund seiner liebevoll gestalteten Grafikpracht in seinen Bann ziehen können. Doch angesichts heftiger Steuerungs- und Kameraprobleme muss man eine Menge Geduld mitbringen. So werden die vielen kleinen Details, die man sowohl spielerisch als auch grafisch immer wieder entdeckt, von Frustmomenten in den Hintergrund gedrängt. Und diese Momente hätten durch ein bisschen mehr Feintuning auf einem absoluten Minimum gehalten werden können. Einerseits freut man sich natürlich, dass die Jungs von Core selbst nach zahllosen Lara-Abentuern immer noch ein glückliches Händchen für tolles Spieldesign haben. Andererseits ist es bedauerlich, dass selbst diese Software-Veteranen an Genre-bekannten Problemen scheitern.

Have you ever wanted to herd sheep? If the answer is no, then you are qualified enough to play and enjoy Herdy Gerdy. If the answer is yes, then go to the hospital and get your head examined immediately. Herdy Gerdy is a game about herding various creatures, but it's not nearly as mundane as the real thing. In fact, HG can be quite entertaining...

Herdy Gerdy succeeds almost entirely at the new things it tries to do, but it's unfortunately brought low by some very familiar problems. Gameplay and graphics evolve apace, but things like choppy framerate, imprecise controls, and confusticated automatic camera direction appear to be unavoidable constants in the world of 3D videogames. It's doubly aggravating for a game that's so effectively innovative in some ways to be so frustrating in others, but perhaps such is the price of reaching a little too far.

It's good to see developers finally trying something new with the platforming genre. There are only so many Super Mario 64 clones and collecting frenzies one can take. Core Design's latest project, Herdy Gerdy, steps outside the box and injects some refreshing ideas into the platforming genre. But technical limitations undermine the game's unique premise and impressive visuals to create a game that is far too frustrating to play.

As it stands, it's an action/platformer without much action or platforming, and the herding elements aren't deep enough to be compelling in their own right.

Herdy Gerdy is similar in composition to Lemmings and the Oddworld titles, but lacks the gameplay fundamentals that made those games so compelling. In the end, the watercolor texturing is the only portion of this release that is redeemable. Unfortunately, you can't hang a game on the wall to admire. Gorgeous, yet incredibly light on gameplay.

Will you herd Doops with a stick? Will you herd them double quick? Will you trap a Gromp with ease? Or catch floating Bleeps in the breeze? Will you be fast, and oh so sturdy To live up to Herdy Gerdy? (I sincerely apologize to Dr. Seuss for the theft and destruction of his venerated rhyme scheme.)

So now we have the storyline and the gameplay. What else is there? Oh yea! FUN! Is this game fun? Um… not really. This game had the potential to be as addicting as Lemmings (I'm dating myself there, aren't I?) but really manages to fall short of it. Maybe it is the mediocre cartoonish graphics, or the annoying cut scenes, or the obnoxiously long load times between levels and cut scenes. It is probably all of the above and then some. I lost interest in the game relatively early on, and have not looked back. Overall, I found it to be a very blah game that did nothing to make me want to save the kingdom or even care if it was destroyed.

In the end, all Herdy Gerdy has going for it is the creative gameplay concept at its core, and this isn't sufficient to compensate for the inconsistent presentation, an overly complicated structure, and the extremely long load times that give you one more reason to move on to something better.

I bet you can see where I'm going with this. Yes, Herdy Gerdy is another one. It is chock full of unfinished parts and optimization flaws that only make the game's problems stand out more clearly - which is a shame, because while Herdy Gerdy would never have been a great game, it has some really original things going for it.