Zack Zero doesnít look like much of a hero.
In fact, he embodies precisely the same kind of generic and forgettable character design
that drives me crazyóhe looks more like a dorky mailman who hasnít done laundry in
a week, so he has to wear a replica superhero suit he bought at a comic book shop instead.
If this were a cartoon, Iíd turn off the channel and make fun of it on the Internet.
The thing about Zack Zero, however, is that his world isnít that vanilla.
And as a result, his video game actually succeeds despite his own shortcomings.
Zack Zero has been in development for a long time.
In fact, itís been on the radar for almost three years now, an ambitious project from
a rookie developer called Crocodile Entertainment.
Itís finally come to the PlayStation Network, and after several years in the cooker, Zack
Zero has emerged a fairly pleasant surprise.
The game follows the story of Zack Zero, a hero who sets off to rescue his damsel in
distress.
A lame story befitting such a lame character, but fortunately, this is a platform game...a
genre in which story is generally pretty meaningless.
The strengths of Zack Zero are its beautiful vistas and its fun use of perspective.
And its gameplay is...well, decent.
Zack Zero is a kind of 2.5D platformer, a game that side-scrolls but also uses depth.
Thereís a primary level of play, but you can also move into pathways beyond that.
Itís a concept that dates back to the original PlayStation and games like Klonoa, and itís
really become popular in modern platformers.
But while it is a nice addition to Zack Zero, the game doesnít quite pull it off as well
as its peers.
Thatís because itís often difficult to move from one layer to the next.
Locations where you can do it arenít entirely clear either, so you might find yourself trying
to climb a rock thatís off the main path...even though you actually canít.
I had some similar annoyances with the combat, as well.
The game essentially uses typical button-mashing attacks, which gets a little dull.
But the real issue is that youíre often ambushed by enemies that come from deeper layers of
the level.
They just pop out at you so fast, you donít have time to react.
You just get killed, which means you have to endure a little trial-and-error at times.
But the gameplay is, again, perfectly decent.
It adds three different abilities you can switch between Ben 10 style, but theyíre
all very standard.
Itís not a bad game by any means, itís just nothing special in terms of its controls and
core gameplay mechanics.
But the game earns bonus pointsóand gets nudged above averageóthanks to its awesome
environments.
Zack Zero has to traverse some pretty spectacular alien vistas, worlds brought to life with
great art and fitting visual effects.
The game puts a really nice blur on objects in the distance, which creates a nice sense
of depth and also complements the gameís 2.5D nature.
For a game thatís inherently linear, Zack Zero has a world that feels huge.
Of course, that is an illusion...but so is the game itself, in a sense.
You see these interesting worlds and gorgeous views, and you might think itís something
more than just a solid platformer.
Thereís nothing wrong with being a solid platformer, and Zack Zero certainly is one.
But itís also a textbook case of style over substance.