Whiplash

In a bold shout at the platform genre, Crystal Dynamics brings you Whiplash, a cartoon action game with comic violence, slapstick action, and a wicked sense of humor.

In a bold shout at the platform genre, Crystal Dynamics brings you Whiplash, a cartoon action game with comic violence, slapstick action, and a wicked sense of humor.

Gather around my friends for a fascinating tale about a pair of the most unlikely heroes. It was a bright sunny day...outside. Inside the high-rise walls of the massive Genron Corporation, however, it was quite a different story. In fact, it was a very cold, dark day. For you see, Genron is a high-tech lab where innocent animals are used to test human products.

There seems to be a new trend in gaming these days. Starting with Voodoo Vince then moving on to Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy we’ve only scratched the surface of self-inflicted pain and suffering. These games rewarded our sadistic (or masochistic depending on your point of view) behavior by allowing us to defeat enemies and solve devious puzzles. Now Crystal Dynamics brings us the next evolution of painful gameplay with their psychotic platform action title, Whiplash.

Ceux qui attendaient énormément Whiplash resteront sans doute sur leur faim à cause du manque de renouvellement de la progression, de la faible durée de vie et d'un plaisir de jeu qui n'est pas à la hauteur de l'ambiance dégénérée du soft. Whiplash n'en demeure pas moins un titre fort sympathique qui mériterait une suite pour s'exprimer davantage et approfondir le concept.

Ceux qui attendaient énormément Whiplash resteront sans doute sur leur faim à cause du manque de renouvellement de la progression, de la faible durée de vie et d'un plaisir de jeu qui n'est pas à la hauteur de l'ambiance dégénérée du soft. Whiplash n'en demeure pas moins un titre fort sympathique qui mériterait une suite pour s'exprimer davantage et approfondir le concept.

A unique concept for a platformer, Whiplash takes a tongue in cheek look at present day situations and provides a decent foundation for a possible series. Unfortunately, lackluster navigation, combat maneuvers and repetitious sound effects, amongst other slights weaken this game significantly, relegating it to a try-before-you-buy for anyone other than the greatest platformer fan.

There have been platform games that have one main character or sometimes a pair of characters that work together harmoniously, but never a pair where one character tries to inflict as much pain as possible on his partner. In Whiplash, a weasel uses a rabbit as his weapon, grappling tool, and helicopter rolled into one. It's comedy at its most base level, getting a good giggle at the expense of a li'l bunny's pain, but hey, it works. Similar twisted humor runs throughout the rest of Whiplash and is the strongest reason for picking up what is an otherwise flawed platformer.

It's taken some time, but humor is slowly worming its way into video games. Usually it's thrown in on the side, or is there by default (as was the case with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom). A few games have been promoted as being full-fledged comedies, but the writing has yet to match the quality of film or TV.

There have been platform games that have one main character or sometimes a pair of characters that work together harmoniously, but never a pair where one character tries to inflict as much pain as possible on his partner. In Whiplash, a weasel uses a rabbit as his weapon, grappling tool, and helicopter rolled into one. It's comedy at its most base level, getting a good giggle at the expense of a li'l bunny's pain, but hey, it works. Similar twisted humor runs throughout the rest of Whiplash and is the strongest reason for picking up what is an otherwise flawed platformer.

With the preponderance of grim, militaristic realism and exceedingly cutesy preciousness indigenous to many of today's video games, it's always refreshing to find one with some actual wit and humor. Whiplash, the latest platformer from Crystal Dynamics, finds its humor somewhere in between Looney Tunes-style slapstick and light absurdist social commentary. Unfortunately, humor is the only thing Whiplash seems to really nail, and chuckles alone aren't enough to carry an entire game.

Humor is the only thing Whiplash seems to really nail, and chuckles alone aren't enough to carry an entire game. With the preponderance of grim, militaristic realism and exceedingly cutesy preciousness indigenous to many of today's video games, it's always refreshing to find one with some actual wit and humor. Whiplash, the latest platformer from Crystal Dynamics, finds its humor somewhere in between Looney Tunes-style slapstick and light absurdist social commentary. Unfortunately, humor is the only thing Whiplash seems to really nail, and chuckles alone aren't enough to carry an entire game.

While the edgy humor is a plus, Whiplash doesn't stay fresh for long. The disappointment comes from the repetition and the graphics which aren't up to par. The action is fun, but can be found in many recent platform games. Whiplash is well-worth a rental for Xbox owners, but not even worth looking at for PS2 owners, especially with games like Jak II and Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.

While the edgy humor is a plus, Whiplash doesn't stay fresh for long. The disappointment comes from the repetition and the graphics which aren't up to par. The action is fun, but can be found in many recent platform games. Whiplash is well-worth a rental for Xbox owners, but not even worth looking at for PS2 owners, especially with games like Jak II and Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.

Det är ett medelmåttigt plattformsäventyr - rakt på sak och utan nyskapande finesser. I och med att det inte heller är överdrivet genomarbetat kommer kaninen och vesslan aldrig att bli ett radarpar i stil med Mario och Luigi, eller ens Jak och Daxter. Crystal Dynamics lever inte upp till standarden de själva satte med Soul Reaver. Men man kan även se det från den ljusa sidan; Whiplash är i alla fall inte lika trist som I-ninja.

Now that somebody has finally made a game about escaping from an animal testing facility, it seems remarkably apt that it now faces a bunch of figurative guinea pigs like muggins here, all keen to let you know how it turned out. It's a pity though from a marketing perspective, because I could also happily draw parallels between my plight and that of some of the animals scurrying around the tortuous facilities in Whiplash. Actually, playing Crystal Dynamics' latest, I realised I've never felt more like an alligator on a treadmill in my life. Or is it a crocodile?

My favorite thing about Whiplash (by Eidos for the Xbox and PS2) is the fact that you’re fighting against cruelty to animals by smashing the offices of a bio-tech corporation with a rabbit attached to a chain. Indeed, to progress, (to save lives!) Richmond the immortal rabbit must be inserted into awful, grinding gears, super-saturated with chemicals, inflated with helium and just generally thrashed about to great but quickly diminishing comic effect. Did I mention Richmond was just a little sarcastic?

Anyone who decries the supposed "liberal bias" in the media should steer clear of Eidos Interactive's new platformer Whiplash. Its jabs at animal testing and Enron, among other witty chidings, are this game's clear selling point. The premise chains a weasel named Spanx to a rabbit named Redmond, which sounds like the beginning of a groaner of a joke. Despite this, there's a palpable sense of fun in Whiplash right from the get-go. While it's far from a perfect game, that sense of fun will probably help gamers forgive Whiplash's less charming qualities.

Anyone who decries the supposed "liberal bias" in the media should steer clear of Eidos Interactive's new platformer Whiplash. Its jabs at animal testing and Enron, among other witty chidings, are this game's clear selling point. The premise chains a weasel named Spanx to a rabbit named Redmond, which sounds like the beginning of a groaner of a joke. Despite this, there's a palpable sense of fun in Whiplash right from the get-go. While it's far from a perfect game, that sense of fun will probably help gamers forgive Whiplash's less charming qualities.