[h1]“I do not say blah blah blah!”
[i]~Drac[/i][/h1]
OK, now this one came as a pretty big surprise to me. I mean, I love games based on movies and TV shows. When I was a little kid, pretty much every big movie had its own video game. From [b]Star Wars[/b] and [b]Indiana Jones[/b] to [b]Alien[/b] and [b]Halloween[/b]. We had it all. Of course, not all of such games were equally good (take [b]Gremlins 2: The New Batch[/b] from [b]Motivetime Ltd.[/b], for example), but many of them were pretty awesome. Games like [b]Alien[/b] for [b]Commodore 64[/b], [b]Batman[/b] for the [b]NES[/b], [b]Dune 2[/b] for [b]DOS[/b] and, of course, millions and millions of games based on [b]Disney[/b]'s animations are still among my most favorite ones. Heck, many of such games are [i]criminally[/i] underrated. Like [b]Terminator 2: Judgment Day[/b] for the [b]NES[/b], the original [b]Dune[/b] for [b]DOS[/b] and [b]Gremlins 2: The New Batch[/b] from [b]Riedel Software[/b], which was totally different from [b]Motivetime[/b]'s game and was, like, open world gremlin fighting simulator in [b]Clamp Center[/b]. And all that is... kinda sad, really. I mean, partially it's because people just don't want to dig deeper than their mainstream [b]AAA[/b] stuff, but partially it's because all of those “angry” youtubers who get views by badmouthing pretty much everything they can and therefore creating a very bad reputation for a certain kind of entertainment. Personally, though? I miss such stuff a lot. Like... [i]a lot[/i]. All of those games were like part of our experience with the title we ended up liking. Leaving the theater, full of soda and popcorn, and going straight into the nearby store to pick up some comics, posters, soundtracks, T-shirts and, if you're lucky, a video game to continue experience the movie at home? It just felt [i]way too awesome[/i]. And don't even let me start talking about those awesome coin-op games... Like I said, I really miss all that. Miss movies to be... you know. More than just movies. Because nowadays, even though technically, this kind of games still exist, usually, it's just a mobile crap. Like that [b]f2p[/b] city building nonsense based on [b]Moana[/b] (“You're welcome” [i]my butt![/i]) And that's why this game came as such a surprise to me. See, it's actually... a very good game.
Even though [b]Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation[/b] was the worst movie in trilogy, it sure had the best merchandize. No idea why, it just did. So, I wasn't really surprised about the fact that it got its own video game adaptation. What's surprising here is the fact that it turned out to be... a [b]Pikmin[/b] clone. Yep. You heard that right. We've got [b]Pikmin[/b] clone... based on [b]Hotel Transylvania 3[/b]. Mind blown. The fact that this game is a [b]Pikmin[/b] clone? That fact alone is more than enough to get your attention. I mean, let's just admit it, we never had enough of such games. Sure, we all know the [b]Overlord[/b] series, a lot of us are probably also remember the original [b]Little King's Story[/b] (which was, like, the very best thing since the original [b]Pikmin[/b]) and its arguable “sequel”, some nerds like yours truly would probably even remember stuff like [b]Eco-Creatures: Save the Forest[/b] for [b]Nintendo DS[/b], but seriously, that's pretty much it. Like I said, we never... had... enough... [b]Pikmin[/b] games. So, having a new one? It's a good thing just because. Just because there are literally no alternatives around.
But OK, let's pretend you never played [b]Pikmin[/b] (even though if you didn't, you should seriously consider to stop reading this and order yourself a copy from [b]eBay[/b], the game is a bloody masterpiece). What is it? Well, it's some sort of mix between third-person action, consoles-oriented strategy where you control a certain amount of units ([b]Cannon Fodder[/b] anyone?) and [b]Zelda[/b]-like exploration. You explore the world and discover some little creatures (in [b]Pikmin[/b] those were called... well, [b]Pikmin[/b], while here those are called [b]Impas[/b]). You can use them to attack the monsters (by simply throwing them, since personality, you don't have any weapons and therefore can't do any damage), but there's actually more. See, there are different kinds of creatures. And every kind has its own powers and weaknesses. And that's where [b]Zelda[/b] part comes in. Remember how acquiring the new item used to give you access to the new areas that you were unable to access before (well, at least in times when series didn't become an open world time killer yet that is)? That's pretty much it. You get the new kind of [b]Impas[/b] – you can access the new areas that were previously locked for you.
Unfortunately, that's also where I should mention the worst thing about this game. See, since clearly, nobody here aimed for anything big... there isn't much here to do, really. The only two things you can find in this game are so-called [b]Imparite[/b] stones to produce more [b]Impas[/b] (again, you're absolutely helpless without [b]Impas[/b] and monsters will kill them quite often) and treasure chests. You [i]will[/i] want to find as many chests as possible since those are used to level up your [b]Impas[/b] and get some other advantages, but all in all, that's pretty much it. Even though this game would instantly get pretty much any [b]Pikmin[/b] fan hooked, it's not nearly as big and complicated as the games I've mentioned above. It's like... [b]Pikmin Light[/b], really.
Which doesn't mean that it's bad. Exactly the opposite. I'm pretty amazed by having something like this nowadays. And if you have kids who aren't ready for [b]Pikmin[/b] yet (like some other games from [b]Nintendo[/b], it's way harder than it looks), this game is a pretty cool way to introduce them to the genre. If you won't try to skip all the treasure chests, [b]Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard[/b] will be a pretty relaxing experience. Even the timer here exists only because it's hard to imagine a proper [b]Pikmin[/b] game without it. Good ol' [b]Drac[/b] (who never say “blah blah blah”) is not [b]Captain Olimar[/b] and none of your favorite characters from animated movies would die from oxygen poisoning here. Don't worry. Talking about characters, by the way. We didn't get the original cast from animated movies, but still, voiceover in this game is pretty solid and won't disappoint you. For example, [b]Mavis[/b] here is voiced by [b]Melissa Sturm[/b] who played [b]SmurfJade[/b] in [b]Smurfs: The Lost Village[/b] and [b]Smurfette[/b] in [b]The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow[/b]. Nice.
The only real bad thing I can say here is the fact that two [b]Steam[/b] achievements are appear to be broken. But aside from that? [b]Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard[/b] is a great present for those who love both [b]Hotel Transylvania[/b] and [b]Pikmin[/b]. The fact that it's so overlooked in [b]Steam[/b] is just... sad. Seriously, according to [b]SteamDB[/b], I was, like, the only one who played it in about a year. Like... what the heck? So yes, I totally do recommend it. Don't expect much, because, like I said, it's a pretty basic thing, but honestly, a pretty solid [b]Pikmin[/b] clone for casual players? It's a great achievement. Dixi.
