Naughty Bear

@Gamer (3.5 out of 5) (70%)

Naughty Bear is one of those games that's wrong and right at the same time. You'll probably feel bad the first few times you terrorize other bears, but when you're down on the leaderboard and looking to get a better score, you'll lose the guilt and really bear down to improve. (See what I did there? Okay, sorry...)

4Players.de (60 out of 100) (60%)

Naughty Bear ist ambitioniert und hat einige gute Ideen. Das beginnt bereits mit dem psychopathischen Hauptdarsteller, der nach einer Kränkung beschließt, es allen anderen Teddys auf Perfection Island heimzuzahlen. Und das hört erst bei den zahlreichen Möglichkeiten auf, die einem über die sieben Episoden à fünf Kapitel zur Verfügung stehen, um den Bären an die Füllwolle zu gehen: Schleichen, Sabotage, Frontalangriffe, Fallen - alles klingt gut und macht beim ersten Einsatz einen Heidenspaß. Doch auf Dauer geht nicht nur der anfänglich vorhandene anarchische Humor flöten. Naught Bear krankt vor allem an einem redundanten Spieldesign. An den Finishern hat man sich schnell satt gesehen, an den ebenso kleinen wie spröden Abschnitten ebenso. Dennoch: Für eine kleine Bärenjagd zwischendurch bietet der neue Titel des WET-Studios ansprechende Unterhaltung. Allerdings sinkt der Spaß antiproportional zur „Spielzeit am Stück“.

GamingLives (6 out of 10) (60%)

On the whole, Naughty Bear is an incredibly devious idea that simply wasn't nurtured to its full potential. While it excels in terms of deliberately kitsch and overplayed aesthetics to pull you back to the television shows of the typical 1970s childhood, it falls flat when it comes to presenting you with a game which carries the excitement through from the first level to the last. The repetitive nature of having to play through each level in various modes was a let down and very quickly became tedious. The game COULD have been fantastic, and I desperately wanted this to be the case but, sadly, it just wasn't. Bitter disappointment with what is essentially an XBLA game marketed as a commercial release.

Jeuxvideo.com (12 out of 20) (60%)

Naughty Bear profite d'un pitch de départ qui suscite l'enthousiasme. Transformer le plus classique des doudous en machine à tuer, quelle déviance magnifique ! Dans la pratique, si on passe un bon moment les premiers temps, on atteint vite les limites d'un gameplay ultra répétitif et pas forcément très bien ficelé. Reste un humour assez efficace qui séduira les amateurs. A envisager à petit prix.

GameSpot UK (5.5 out of 10) (55%)

Initially, Naughty Bear appears to have the makings of a darkly funny gem; the teddies are cute, the antihero is unpleasant, and the violence is as jarring as intended. The narrator, seemingly a kids' TV presenter who has cracked under the pressure, is alarmingly creepy. But those bare bones don't get fleshed out. With its key idea, basically a Care Bear on a rampage, underserved by the storytelling, and the basic mechanics not strong enough to carry the game on their own, Naughty Bear is a fun diversion for only a short while. As time goes on, though, it feels like more of a series of missed opportunities than the subversive, jokey action game promised by the title.

Impulse Gamer (5.5 out of 10) (55%)

In the end, Naughty Teddy had the character, premise and even the story, however the gameplay needed some more polishing. If it wasn’t for the graphical stutter, I would have enjoyed Naughty Bear more but for me, it actually caused me eye strain. I was able to complete the game through the craziness of Naughty that motivated me for just one more teddy bear killing. It’s a shame that the developers didn’t spend a little extra time in perfecting what would have been a thoroughly enjoyable game.

Extreme Gamer (5.3 out of 10) (53%)

‘Naughty Bear’ wanted to be so much more, and possibly could have been with a little more variety and tightening up of the core mechanics. In its initial moments ‘Naughty Bear’ is pretty cool with a unique campy vibe that slowly fades away as you progress through the game. It was really hard to stay motivated as I "defluffed" all the other bears on Perfection Island. ‘Naughty Bear’ isn't a horrible game, just one that needs some more work. It is back to the toy-box for you ‘Naughty,’ you’ve been a bad, bad, boy.

PlayStation Official Magazine UK (5 out of 10) (50%)

Naughty Bear certainly isn't a sweatshop import with lead shot for eyes and asbestos filling, but it's no Steiff original either. Have a go if you're tired of shooters and post-apocalyptic guff, but be warned - it made us want to turn toytown assassins ourselves. Keep eyeballing us and we'll cut you good, Ruxpin.

D+PAD Magazine ( ) (50%)

There can be no doubt – Naughty Bear should have been a Live Arcade title priced at no more than 1200 MS points, in which case the score would most certainly have been higher. The fact that the publishers had the audacity to give the title a full retail release, albeit with a few quid knocked off, smacks of daylight robbery given the extremely limited nature of what it has to offer. Lacking in depth and diversity but not completely devoid of charm, the game is a playable yet troubled effort that warrants little more than a one-night rent. Naughty Bear – more like Lazy Developer.

Cheat Code Central (2.4 out of 5) (48%)

Unfortunately, while the first hour or so with the game was entertaining, the repetitive objectives, environments, and gameplay make you feel like you are in some sort of insidious gaming Groundhog Day loop. The addition of sub-episodes attempts to vary the experience, but it largely fails to do so. Instead, this makes the game even less desirable due to simply adding ridiculous and infuriating constraints to missions that have no checkpoints. Naughty Bear is truly a disappointment, especially considering how good all the trailers preceding the game made it look. In the end, this game had a ton of potential but failed to turn any of it into a good title. If you still feel the need to check this one out, I suggest waiting for it to hit the bargain bin.

Game Hoard, The (3 out of 7) (43%)

Naughty Bear’s idea of terrifying the teddy bear populace of an island before capping things off with stylish kills had some promise, and elements like the narrator’s delightful tone and the creativity put into the kill animations would have helped it out if the actual action you participate in wasn’t so lacking. Running around and harassing the other bears grows stale quickly as you exhaust unique ways to terrorize the rather dim opposition and settle into a boring rhythm, and then the game tries to stretch its content out even longer with a set of barely altered challenge missions. You’ll have to play some of the challenges to complete the game and many of them either make it easier to fail or add conditions that make things even less varied, so by the time you have finished Naughty Bear, whatever appeal its over-the-top violence once had has been dulled by the system you engage with to get to it.

1UP (C-) (42%)

Among the HUD and camera problems, the game slows down occasionally during cut-scenes. The lack of different environments is particularly disheartening -- I get the impression this would've completely succeeded as a downloadable title because my expectations for more content wouldn't be there. Not to mention, multiplayer doesn't work for me at all. Whenever I host a game or try to join one, I get kicked out right before it starts. Naughty Bear has its moments, but not enough to win me over.

Escapist, The ( ) (40%)

Despite quite competently capturing the feel of a slasher flick and possessing a solid sense of humor, Naughty Bear is repetitious and clunky, and constantly feels like it's working to keep you separated from the parts of the game that are genuinely fun - that is, the hunting down and murder of adorable stuffed animals. Take out the fluff and the padding, and you might have a solid downloadable title, but as it is? Naughty Bear's biggest crime is that his game just isn't very good.

That Gaming Site (4 out of 10) (40%)

Naughty Bear takes a hilarious concept and mixes it with retro-style puzzle maps to create a game that is honestly no longer in demand. Add to that various glitching and frequent game freezing and most won't tolerate the style for more than a couple hours.

PSX Extreme (3.8 out of 10) (38%)

Naughty Bear is just another game that features a great concept but fails miserably in execution, which is why you really shouldn’t bother paying full pop for this one. Maybe when it arrives in the bargain bin (which won’t be long) and you’ve got absolutely nothing to do…and you’re a touch masochistic…

ZTGameDomain (3.3 out of 10) (33%)

Naughty Bear holds true to its name by truly being a badly behaved game when it comes to the essentials. The location feels claustrophobic, the camera system is atrocious and the act of torturing cuddly bears is simply not as enjoyable as it should be. The game suffers what I like to call "Fairytale Fights Syndrome" or "FFS" for short, where the idea is brilliant on paper, but fails miserably in execution. There really is no reason to drop $50 on this mess of a game. It will hit the bargain bin sooner rather than later, and even then I suggest proceeding with extreme caution.

gamrReview (3.3 out of 10) (33%)

Perhaps somebody with a little more perseverance could wring some enjoyment out of Naughty Bear, but if you possess the patience and determination to complete this utter wreck of a game, you should put your talents towards something more constructive, such as climbing Everest or curing deadly diseases. Edmund Hillary and Alexander Fleming would bow before you.

videogamer.com (3 out of 10) (30%)

Truly awful games, especially full-price retail releases, are thin on the ground these days. Sure, games can sometimes be far too generic or suffer from some iffy design decisions, but they're rarely as poor as Naughty Bear. How the game got released in this state is a mystery. No matter how interesting the central idea may sound, do not support such a shoddily put together title.

Thunderbolt Games (3 out of 10) (30%)

All that said, I promise, there is some fun to be had here. Naughty Bear is a bad game, but you can’t help but enjoy it. It is poorly made but despite it all, when you get a series of rapid kills, when the camera actually keeps up, when the collision detection registers your dodge and you land that satisfying killing blow with just a sliver of health left, it is a blast. Though you’ll often be angry at it, Naughty Bear finds a way to make you smile at least once each level, even if you are reloading it for the third or fourth time. It’s an example for every game design classroom of what not to do, but almost in spite of the developers, somehow, there’s an entertaining game here that you’ll inexplicably come back to. I certainly can’t recommend the game, but I’d definitely give a sequel a shot if the developers can work out some of the kinks.

PlayStation Lifestyle (3 out of 10) (30%)

Naughty Bear, on paper, seemed a game that had a lot of potential and could of delivered an exciting and engaging experience. There were so many good things they could have done with this game, but, unfortunately, delivered on none of it. After 20 minutes of gameplay, you will have fully exhausted what the game has to show you.

IGN (2.5 out of 10) (25%)

Naughty Bear could’ve been cool, but it isn’t. It’s a terrible game. You shouldn’t play it.

GameZone N/A

Naughty Bear strives to be tasteless and base, but in order for a game to truly pull that off it has to be funny, which Naughty Bear definitely isn’t. The story is empty and the narration gets irritating very quickly. The gameplay is repetitive, the mission structure is absent, the graphics are lousy, and the whole experience is mired by a variety of technical shortcomings and bugs. Simply put, there’s no reason to play this game, unless you really hate teddy bears.