Ancients of Ooga XBLA Review
Ancients of Ooga Review by Transient Nova
Join the Ooganis in their tribal revolution and get in touch with your primitive, animalistic side! By solving plenty of item-based puzzles! Yes.
Let me start this review by giving you a valuable life lesson folks. Greed isn’t good. Well, unless it involves Sherbert Dips, in which case you can never be too greedy. In most non-Sherbert Dip related cases though being gluttunous can lead to some ruinous scenarios. Just look at the Ooganis. They’ve eaten lots and lots of ecstasy inducing Slugs and as a result they’ve now been subjugated by a bunch of tyrants. Yet despite this, they still shamelessly gobble up anything they can get their hands on. You’d think lessons would have been learned by now.
So, what is their solution to this predicament? Summon the Great Spirit of Ooga of course. What may surprise you about this plan though is that somehow, against all odds, the Great Spirit just so happens to be you. This works out well for both parties as our protagonists get the help they sorely need and you get a vacation to Ooga. Everybody wins!
But is this game worth booking a flight over there for? Let this review be your budget travel guide!
Story:
Welcome to Ooga, a lovely little country with a proud yet carefree heritage; where it is customary for the native Oogani tribes to eat anything and everything. Its a paradise full of happiness, love, parties and Many Very Good Things. I would tell you to stay away the territories occupied by the mean, envious Boolis but the current situation makes doing such a thing a bit difficult…
See, the Boolis wanted a piece of the good life (and by a piece of it I mean all of it). They offered the Ooganis some tempting Slugs which, once eaten, put them in state of trippy euphoria. Noticing their narcotic qualities, the seven wise Oogani Chieftains warned that the excessive consumption of these Slugs would have an adverse effect on their society. Yet wanting more, the tribes caged their leaders and feasted on the Slugs to their heart’s content.
Then the Boolis forced their way in, brutally murdered the Tribe Chiefs, took the land and enslaved the natives. All in record time no less.
Circumstances being as they are the Oognais now need a saviour (alongside more food to savor); someone who will bring back their seven Chieftains from the other side and guide them out of these now not-completely-pleasant times. This is where your transcendent self comes in.
The plot can be seen as a harsh, biting satire on how the allure of illicit drugs can allow corrupt groups to rise to power and by extension how it incentivises the downtrodden into finding redemption in civil war (if you squint at it). Really though, it’s just a nice little scene setter that serves to support some interesting play styles and some bizarre, occasionally crude humour.
And it IS humourous. The Ooganis are very odd bunch, with each tribe boasting a curiously unique personality trait that borders on neurotic. It isn’t really laugh-out-loud material, nor is it particularly clever, but the good-natured dialogue and excellent physical comedy will frequently put a smile on your face nonetheless. The Fire Chief Berni-ni really, really loves his puns.
Gameplay:
Staying true to Ninjabee’s mantra, this is a considerably deeper affair than your usual casual game. At its heart, and like Cloning Clyde before it, this is a puzzle-based platform game with a sense of adventure. Utilising a unique item-management based mechanic throughout its 55 levels (divided into a tutorial, seven chapters and a couple of final stages) you will eat, ferry, use, cook and sacrifice many objects (and Ooganis) on your quest for victory.
The first levels of each chapter have you sorting out the native tribe’s problems and convincing them to join you in your ongoing crusade. This usually involves figuring out how best to get a bunch of items and/or Ooganis from point A to point B. Solving these conundrums requires a good understanding of how said items work through their use or consumption, as well as having to liberate any captured tribesfolk and putting them to good use (switching between them in a near identical fashion to Cloning Clyde). You’ll also have to use each tribe’s unique abilities conferred to them by the Oogani Healer, who seems to have the remarkable ability of being everywhere at once. A bit like Cheryl Cole.
The penultimate stage in the chapter has you gathering a bunch a sacred objects that, once bought together, will bring back the tribe’s leader from the dead. Getting them requires a complete understanding of all of that tribe’s abilities. Once all the necessary ingredients are thrown into the bonfire, a glorious ceremony takes place and the Chief is revived! Five seconds later the celebration ends. The Ooganis party hard.
Once the ceremony is over you can take command of the newly revived Oogani Chief for a level and give the Boolis their just desserts, free the village and end that current chapter in a blaze of glory; sacrificing the now-living Chief a on pedestal for some strange reason (its probably part of the Oogani culture. Either that or everybody there is a bit mad). In using his innate powers (which can range from throwing fireballs to flooding the entire level, depending on the tribe) you engage in some the game’s most clever puzzles, as well as do the kind of things to Boolis that in most sane civilisations would get you arrested. Varied and joyful to play, these moments were easily the some of the best the game has to offer.
It isn’t just platforms and puzzles though. The game occasionally throws a couple of other play styles your way. These include some enjoyable high-speed races and time trials to bouts of combat against both the Boolis and the native wildlife. Fights and often imprecise though, often won by pre-emptively hitting the enemy before they hit you. Even when playing with the Oogani tribes that are skilled in fighting you’ll find that you may die a lot as a result of constantly mistiming punches. Thank goodness for infinite lives.
Length-wise, you definitely get sizeable adventure for your 800 Microsoft Points. It took me about 9 hours to beat the game, not including the time spent looking for/eating the numerous collectibles scattered throughout the levels. The game also includes online leaderboards for the high-score chasers out there, but it lacks the ‘one more go’ mentality that the quicker, more simple platform puzzlers have out there (like say, ooooh, Lode Runner). This is first and foremost a fun campaign, and will likely be a single run game for most people.
There are a couple of other minor faults that prevent this from entering the upper echelons of the XBLA library, however. There have been a number of technical issues I have noticed throughout the game. These include the occasional bit of slowdown when things get particularly busy (which was the last thing I wanted when going up against a Booli or two), a couple of geyser- related camera issues and some problems trying to pick up a specific item amongst a cluster of them.
There are instances of repetition in the game as well. While the item-based puzzle solving is certainly a novel idea amongst the XBLA offerings, I did feel that it did occasionally lead to some unnecessary busywork as items were ferried from one end of the level to the other and back again. There were times where I just wanted to move on to see what the next stage would offer.
There is nothing here that ruins the game though, just a number of small irritations that get in the way of an otherwise solid game experience.
Online/Multiplayer:
Apart from the possible implication of some additional downloadable content being made available sometime down the line, the online component of this game is largely non-existent, with two player co-op being relegated to offline split-screen only.
It’s heartening to see such an option included in the game though, especially as most multiplayer games opt solely for online modes these days. There is plenty of fun to be had in solving conundrums with your nearby friend, relative or trained monkey as you discuss solutions and develop some newfound collaborative organisational skills as you move bits and bobs around the level. It may be worth noting that the game suffers from some very jarring slowdown (more so than the kind experienced in single player) should both screens get busy, with can throw some players of in various instances.
Visuals:
While the game is not a technical showpiece for XBLA by any stretch (the previously mentioned slowdown is a testament to that) it does possess a unique, eye-catching look. Rugged and cartoon-like with a colourful (yet quite muted) palette; Ancients of Ooga has a remarkable sense of place and character, with each tribe’s village having a distinct visual style while still comfortably fitting in with the game as a whole.
A special mention must be given to the excellent animation work throughout the game as well. Boolis swagger about menacingly as if they own the place, Squawckens flap about wildly as they are lugged about and thrown into various fires and Ooganis work themselves into a frenzy they revive their chiefs and prepare for war. The fact that the developers managed to pack all this into 65MB is really quite impressive.
Audio:
Containing an assortment of tribal drums and wind instruments, the soundtrack is pretty much what you imagined it to sound like when you first looked at the game’s title. There are plenty of upbeat, rhythmic drum rhythms in there as you might expect. The inclusion of some downbeat, slightly haunting tracks for the games quieter levels might pleasantly take you by surprise as it did me though.
The Ooganis themselves are also quite a noisy bunch, communicating using a series of grunts, yelps and whimpers (just as I do first thing in the morning). It’s quite charming in a mad sort of way and it does draw you into their crazy hijinks. I dare you to fling an Oogani using a catapult and not raise a smile at his little cry for help at least once. Go on. I dare you.
The sound direction generally serves the game well, adding a good dose of atmosphere to the world and plenty of character to compliment its already eccentric cast. That being said, a reduced emphasis on the use of percussion instruments in its soundtrack would have been welcome. When you start getting frustrated by the one of the game’s more difficult puzzles, the very last thing you want to hear are those constant, maddening drums. I can still hear them…
Final Thoughts:
There was not a lot of hype for this game during the lead up to this game’s release. Not many people knew about it until close to its scheduled date (myself included) and it had the misfortune of being released alongside the considerably higher profile Puzzle Quest 2 on the same day. Ancients of Ooga is very much fighting an uphill battle on XBLA. It will likely get a devoted following though.
Ultimately, what we have here is a good, surprisingly sincere game with more personality than a lot of other downloadable titles (indeed, it has more personality than a lot other retail titles). Unfortunately some rough edges prevent this game from reaching the heights achieved on XBLA by some of Ninjabee’s other offerings.
Still, if you’re partial to the occasional puzzle platformer then this is an easy game to recommend, despite its shortcomings. Just don’t forget to bring your passport. And some Sherbert. Just in case.
Overall:
7.5/10
Liked this? Then you might also like…:
Cloning Clyde [Ninjabee / J Kenworthy Entertainment] (Xbox 360):
Also from the dynamic duo of Ninjabee and J Kenworthy Entertainment, this is spiritual predecessor to Ancients of Ooga. It’s somewhat dated now, especially when you compare it to its superior upstart, but for 400 points the game is still worth a look if you’re after some more of the developer’s unique brand of puzzle platforming.
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom [The Odd Gentlemen] (Xbox 360/PC):
Starring a sort-of charming, top hat wearing fellow who you wouldn’t trust your bakery to for even five minutes, this similarly charismatic puzzler is worth checking out for its peculiar temporal brain teasers and an unusual Victorian vibe. It also contains a time-travelling pie.
** Update**
The Forgotten Chapters DLC:
It took almost a year, but we finally have some DLC for Ancients of Ooga! And what do the Forgotten Chapters contain? Well, from the looks of things we have seven stages that were probably cut from the original game, with no new story thread to tie them together and constant references to the old one. These stages could have comfortably fit into the main campaign with a little effort, but I’d have imagined doing so would have thrown the latter’s pacing way out of whack, hence the stand-alone pack you see now.
Some typically cheeky jokes aside, there isn’t much here that’s particularly new. In fact, the puzzles here are simpler and feel slightly clunkier than those in the main game. You’ll have it all done before you know it as well, as my completion time for the DLC clocking in at around 45 minutes seems to suggest. Still, the game’s charm remains present and this ultimately comes as a reasonable if lightweight package for the 160 Microsoft point asking price, which will be fine for those who are after more of the same. I can’t help but feel that these chapters were forgotten for a reason though.
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