There's a lot to like about The Proud Family - it nails the animated series dead perfect, the dialogue is clever, easy to read and you can skip past it, the music and sound effects are on target and not intrusive. The graphics nicely match those in the series. There are a wide variety of things to do (six mini-games and a couple of others).
All these really good features are almost completely offset by the fact that it only takes a couple hours to play the game.
Let's start with the basic description. The Proud Family is an animated series on the Disney Channel. It features a mixed-race (Black and Hispanic) family, focusing on 14-year-old Penny Proud. The Prouds, a traditional family (with original mom and dad), have their ups and downs, but they generally conclude each episode with a traditional, family-values moral. Not that it doesn't have its quirks - a favorite hobby of Penny's grandmother, Suga Mama, is wrasslin'. Participating, not watching.
The game drops you into a situation that could be straight from the series. Penny's trying to find just the right gift for her parents' 15th anniversary. She's created a memory scrapbook, but her sometimes-friend Lacienega convinces her that a gift isn't worth giving if it doesn't cost a lot of money. (We're tempted to attempt the slang that colors the series and the game, but … we'd be really lame at it. Just imagine this is all written in middle-class teen street jive.)
So Penny's off on a rushed quest for cash. It comes in many forms - collecting trash, running errands, waiting tables (child labor laws? what child labor laws?) - with the goal being a completed T.H.A.N.G. - a Total Home Automation Necessity Gizmo, that manages money, gives massages and even styles hair. Of course, a T.H.A.N.G. is too expensive, but Penny can get the six parts she needs to construct one on her own from her friendly neighborhood Wizard Gear.
Everything after that is a quest for cash. Everything she accomplishes has a dollar tag attached to it, and as you work your way through the game, the little cash meter at the right of the screen gradually fills. Each time it's completely filled, you run over to Wizard Gear and buy another part. Once you get all six parts, you can assemble the T.H.A.N.G. and celebrate the anniversary. (We all know it won't come out exactly like that, but we'll leave you to discover the exact climax yourself.)
What is there to do? The mini-games include:
There are a few other activities (some more interesting than the jobs) that also net a few bucks. And that's the second problem we have with the game - with only one objective (cash), it doesn't really matter what you do to get it. Anything you do will gradually fill the meter, so you just keep doing … whatever … until it tops out again. For the most part, it's not real clear how much money you're making, or how much you need - just keep your eye on the meter till you get there.
For example, when Dad played, he unintentionally skipped waiting tables because he stopped off at the factory to make more snacks. It didn't take too long to fill the meter again, at which point he was off to help Suga Mama practice wrestling. (A side-effect is that waiting tables didn't unlock in Dad's game, so he couldn't go back later and try it out.)
By making the game so easy, the designers made it extremely short, as well. Dad finished in about two hours; Jesse and Will weren't far behind that time. And for us, with only one objective, there isn't much reason to replay the game. We're finished, and aren't real interested in starting over to crank out the cash some other way. Given that we're still pretty new to the whole handheld console thing, we can't imagine it engaging anyone - well, anyone who's old enough to read - for longer than that.
It is supposed to have bonus features and characters that we didn't unlock. (How about a trip in the UFO?) We weren't playing long enough to discover most of these. Repeating - there's a lot to like about The Proud Family, not least of which is that it endorses the same family values that we do. It has no kicking, punching, lying, bad language or any other objectionable material (that we noticed). We just wish it lasted a little longer.
David, the dad: Got my start in gaming with Steve Jackson Games (paper gaming), first as a tester, then as a developer and editor. Was GURPS and Car Wars system guru for awhile, then edited and developed for TSR (AD&D) and FASA (Mech Warrior, Renegade Legion), before turning to computer games. Spent six years as Origin Systems Publications Manager, then our department spun off into its own little company, Incan Monkey God Studios (IMGS). Since 1997, we’ve been a freelance content and design house, specializing in strategy guides. We created the first strategy guides for MOGs (Ultima Online, EQ: Ruins of Kunark) and now create the best MOG guides (IMHO, of course).
I like to analyze and optimize while playing games, so I much prefer games that require thought rather than action.
Evie is twelve years old and is an avid reader, especially of fantasy. Favorite authors include J.K. Rowling (of course), Brian Jacques, Cornelia Funke and Tamora Pierce. These reviews are her first published writing.
Will is nine years old and loves to investigate, especially dinosaurs and astronomy. These reviews are also his first published writing.
Jesse is seven years old and has just started reading chapter books. He likes Hank the Cowdog and cartoon books, especially Calvin & Hobbes, Baby Blues and Donald Duck.
If you're interested in the (roughly) thousand-year-old triceratops stone in our pic, check out the Dino Art. Some of the accompanying text can be a bit strident, but it's still a puzzle why Central and South American Indians knew pretty precisely what dinosaurs looked like over a thousand years ago.
