Babe

aka: Babe: Ein Schweinchen namens
Moby ID: 142575

PlayStation 2 version

Babe: Pig in the Dump

The Good
Does this game have any praise where it's due? Probably not. I suppose if you wanted a sequel to "Pig in the City", you'll get it right here. And it does have the shortest passwords of any game in existence, just three letters. The best time waster for anyone who is into that sort of game.

The Bad
Presentation is disgraceful in every single screen. The artwork doesn't even qualify as art, just stills directly ripped from the sequel film and diminished with a layer of cornflower blue. The text fonts are overly bold and look like they were typed using a Microsoft Word editor and slapped straight on to the screen. For the password screen, the characters are camouflaged in the background save for the one currently selected. Music tracks have no orchestral composition or effort put into them, just nothing less than a mellow playlist taken from Kevin MacLeod. And enjoy the ambiance of the sheep constantly bleating throughout.

Now the gameplay itself. An isometric puzzler in a strange labyrinthine world of the Hoggett farm among other locations. I've heard of pigs navigating mazes, but this is too ridiculous. Items like haystacks can be pushed but not pulled, leading to some pretty frustrating puzzles with very specific solutions, making you do the same part of the level over and over. Half the controls are wasted on simple actions that don't require any real effort or skill. And any mistakes you make top the most unfair deaths in a King's Quest game.

The Bottom Line
I feel like this game tarnishes the reputation of both the film and Dick King Smith's original book. A game like this could have easily been developed on the PSX or an internet browser. It is such a shame that so many popular film franchises have to get quick cash grabs like this one. Give this game an award for Worst Video Game Adaptation. You may have been tricked into thinking you're getting a third-person platformer or something. Pay no attention to what is advertised on the back cover, there's zero value for fun and entertainment. Your only motive to play this game is to win a bet or take a dare, but ultimately this game fails altogether and is not worth any of the trouble. It's no wonder the game is obscure, because it deserves it.

by Kayburt (32105) on February 20, 2022

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