Windows

Space Bunnies Must Die!

I like the sound and the story a lot but the jerky graphics, clunky controls and pointless combat really frustrated me. Regardless, I think I will keep hacking my way through this game to the end. If you liked Tomb Raider and enjoy a wacky plot then you will probably like this game. Otherwise I would stay away.

Fräulein Croft wird angesichts ihrer Konkurrentin zumindest anerkennend die Augenbraue hochziehen. Space Bunnies ist ein durchaus spritziger Aufguß der Tomb-Raider-Masche mit skurrilem Comic-Humor und anständiger 3D-Grafik. Die paar Polygon-Macken wiegen nicht so schwer, doch das Leveldesign bietet auf Dauer mehr Fies- als Feinheiten. Also nichts für Angsthasen, aber ein paar herausfordernde Bunnybekämpfungs-Stunden sind drin.

The game also features such popular imperfections as characters hanging in mid-air, getting hung-up on invisible corners, and choppy animation. Of course, none of these things by themselves will break a good game, but it's these kind of shortcomings that create a lingering feeling of disappointment over Space Bunnies Must Die. Yes, it's funny that the enemies are mutant space bunnies, and it's even funnier that the lead character can take a break from the action any time she feels like dancing. But, without solid gameplay and control to back them up, these elements feel even more like gimmicks then they really are.

This was an average clone with little outstanding features and somewhat annoying gameplay. The buggy graphics and sluggish movement really detracted from the game, while the annoying accent and overly silly storyline made the game even less desirable to play. The bottom line is that if you really really want to laugh then this is the game for you.

The influence of Tomb Raider on Space Bunnies Must Die isn't subtle. That's not problematic in and of itself, particularly if you liked Tomb Raider and want to play a similar game. But because the premise of Space Bunnies is so offbeat, its weirdness and humor doesn't catch on and instead feels like a strained effort to call your attention away from the obvious. That, together with reliably bad play control, inconsistent hit detection, and plain or frustrating level design, makes for a game that, at least, feels like the sum of its parts.

Tomb Raider trifft Super Mario: Bei diesem 3D-Action-Jump-and-run dürfen Sie nach Herzenslust fiese Hoppelhasen bekämpfen. Besser gesagt Sie dürften, wenn die Entwickler ihre Hausarbeiten gemacht hätten.

Space Bunnies might have been moderately diverting if Ripcord had at least given us some tight cleavage shots of its buxom trailer-trash heroine. The fact that it couldn't even give us a decent camera angle to do that pretty much sums up the game and the heroine - one big controller tease.

Space Bunnies Must Die is a textbook example of how pre-release hype can generate excitement about games that ultimately fail to deliver. This title has garnered attention for its humor and sexy heroine, and I had thought it would operate wonderfully as a guilty pleasure. But the graphics, control mechanics, creature intelligence and action never coalesced into something playable. The graphics do not benefit from the use of a 3D accelerator, the poor controls render the immersion factor null and void, the creature intelligence is inadequate and the bugs and poor animation make playing the game not a pleasure, but a frustrating chore.

It's a painful experience to make your way through the early levels, but the game does gets better as it goes along. Once you complete the "Infiltration" level, the entire game opens up, allowing you to access the rest of the game's levels in any order. Those levels feature more interesting design (although there are still way too many boring corridors) and tougher challenges (puzzles, climbing and jumping, nastier rabbits). Whether you'll get that far entirely depends on whether you can stomach a game with regenerating monsters (bad) and predetermined save points (worse). While you may be able to live with the former, the game's sluggish and vague controls make saving before every jump a must. (Why is it that none of the Tomb Raider clones have matched that game's fluid control scheme?)