[electronic version of "Little Drummer Boy"]
[fizz, sip]
Aahhh!
[typing]
The more I think about it, the less I'm sure what it is about Christmas time
that pressures game developers to make more games about it than any other holiday.
You'd just think they'd want to cash in on the rampant consumerism
and commercially manufactured holiday spirit,
but if that were the only reason, then games like THIS wouldn't exist.
Santa Claus in Trouble,
developed by Joy Mania Development
and published by CDV Software Entertainment in 2002.
It's a freeware game that was released on CDV's website
as a Christmas thank you to the company's fans.
And, yes, this is the same company known for games like Cultures,
Knights and Merchants,
and Divine Divinity.
Oh, and Lula 3D,
but you don't wanna know about that, do you?
Nah, let's jump right into Santa Claus in Trouble.
That's way more interesting.
As the title suggests,
the game is all about the troubles of Santa Claus.
And wouldn't you know it, the jolly old elf has lost all of his presents
and they're now being guarded by a bunch of creatures that suck.
Ugh! Seriously, what's the deal with this guy?
Why is he always losing his presents?
I've lost track of the number of Christmas games
that feature Santa recollecting his freaking loot.
How can one dude be that clumsy every stinkin' year?!
Especially one with such responsibility!
If such a simple task is that hard for him,
maybe someone else should take over.
I'm sure there are plenty of qualified applicants that would make the cut,
so let's DO something about it already!
Anyway, the game starts with the main menu,
featuring some basic options and an animated background,
with Santa standing there, spazzing out.
He's obviously lost his mind
and is probably senile.
Seriously, someone just put him out of his misery already.
Just click "Start Game" to start the game
and once you do, you'll be greeted with, uh...
Santa, are you okay?
You're, uh,
you're kinda making me sick.
Yeesh! And moving around isn't much better, either.
And jumping feels freakin' weird.
And I can't seem to collect all these presents.
I just clip right through them.
Augh! And why does he bounce around like a maniac all the time?
And what's with this jumping? Why's it so awful?!
It's like he only moves when he wants to. It's not smooth at all.
It's like I never reach the jump apex properly.
AARGH! Seriously!
You have to move WITH the moving platforms
or they'll just run out from under you?!
Ugh, and I can't believe this, but when you die, you just
fall forever into the snowy blackness.
Seriously, I have more lives, but it doesn't reset me at all,
and I've pressed every button to no avail.
Is this Santa's own personal hell or something?
[echoing moaning]
I guess I just have to restart it through the main menu and...
Oh, my holy crap.
Yeah, I'm not pressing a thing. It's doing that all on its own.
I guess Santa himself is so fed up with this,
he's not even giving me a chance to awkwardly jump off a ledge for the millionth time.
Yeah, okay, something's not right.
Well, turns out something wasn't right.
After finagling with some options, it turns out
there was something wrong with compatibility.
So if the game plays more like a test of your will to live,
then, uh, you might wanna check that.
Santa's actually supposed to be pretty normal here.
He's no longer flailing around his left arm
and having a seizure that measures on the Richter scale.
Nope, it's just Santa jumping around,
collecting presents through ten levels of increasing difficulty.
Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about.
Christmas gaming at its most acceptable.
It's got a clear Christmas theme,
but it's not too in your face with some contrived story
about how you need to rebuild Santa's meth empire
or anything weird like that.
Just you, some platforming, some presents,
and some Christmas music.
It's really all you need, and you know what?
I quite like it when it's not tossing you down bottomless hellholes
or jerking you around like a kite in a tornado.
For one thing, the platforming is incredibly solid.
Santa's nimble enough to make Ezio Auditore jealous,
and he can not only jump but double jump
to reach all sorts of tricky platforms.
And it's very forgiving, too,
letting you control him in midair in a very responsive way,
as well as letting you jump off the tiniest edges of platforms
where you'd normally fall in similar games.
That's not to say the game is completely easy,
as you'll certainly be doing your share of dying and,
wow, even respawning at the nearest checkpoint!
What a great feature!
I never knew how much I enjoyed NOT having to go back to the main menu
every time I died.
And there are plenty of hazards and critters out there ready to kill you,
from trolls to fires, to icy slopes,
to the ever-present pitfalls.
And while it's rather generous with extra lives and checkpoints,
you're definitely going to have to earn them by navigating some simple
but challenging snow-covered platforms.
And on top of this, the game just looks great,
with its awesome snow and other particle effects,
as well as the whole cartoony aesthetic
which I think still looks quite appealing.
It's just a neat little game
and is incredibly satisfying to play.
And for a free game, well that is just awesome.
Seriously, it puts to shame 90% of the other Christmas games
I've reviewed over the years,
and many of those were paid-for products,
which just makes that even more sad.
Apparently, people noticed that this freebie wasn't made of suck,
so much so that CDV Entertainment developed a full sequel to the game
and sold it at retail, called Santa Claus in Trouble... Again!
Now THAT is imagination in nomenclature.
I only have the demo of the game here,
but you definitely get the idea of what's on offer.
Just like the original, it compels you to collect all of the presents and collectibles,
but also makes it truly taxing to do so without dying.
Now there's even more stuff to collect
and way more stuff out there trying to kill you.
The variety in how each area looks,
the hazards and the enemies is cranked way up,
so it's not nearly as repetitious as the first.
And the levels themselves are also far more vertical and complex,
so it really does feel like a fully-fledged platformer now.
Also, the double jumping has been slightly tweaked,
so you now have to wait a tiny bit between jumps
which makes it not quite as forgiving in tight spots,
but still very playable.
And I'd still say it's an expanded and improved game in every other way over the first one.
It's just a great Christmas-themed game
and is quite possibly the best one I've played.
Really. It's really good.
And I would have loved to have had this back then,
as it's simply a solid platformer.
It doesn't seem like CDV sells it exactly anymore -
which I guess makes sense, it's older -
but you can grab a copy on eBay's UK and German websites
for a pretty decent price,
and of course the free ones are still free.
So if you'd like a fun little platform game that doesn't suck,
unless you somehow have awful compatibility issues
that make it one of the worst things I've ever seen,
Santa Claus in Trouble is actually worth a look
at any time of the year.
[electronic organ playing "Jingle Bells"]
If you enjoyed this and want to see other videos
on games that are enjoyable at any time of the year,
or... not enjoyable at all, because– [chuckles]
you know, sometimes you just gotta cover those,
then take a look at these.
I've got plenty of them and more come out every week.
And if you'd like to be notified when they do, just hit the "Subscribe" thing.
And as always, thanks for watching.