SPRay Wii Review

SPRay

Wii Review
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Eko Software
Players: 1-4

The way in which SPRay is set-up is surely going to appeal to fans of games such as Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Sunshine, etc. due to the gameplay mechanics it relies on, its style, etc.  In the end though, trying to be a classic game is not an easy thing, as is shown here.

The whole premise behind SPRay is pretty unique and interesting, as you play the role of the character Prince Ray here, who has to try and save his kingdom which is currently being ruled by Queen Mordack.

Queen Mordack has taken things over by making everyone slaves, and taking complete control of the villages, etc.

Prince Ray ends up with a magical crown which sets him off on this journey to try and save his kingdom.

In terms of the graphics, there really is not all that much here to be impressed about, as the Wii can certainly pump out better graphics than this.  The colors are not vibrant enough, animations need more flash, and the areas can get pretty bland quickly.  On the positive-side of things though, the framerate is pretty consistent.

SPRay relies on having you solve puzzles in a typical platformer fashion, and relies on a liquid cannon or sorts, similar to what we saw in Super Mario Sunshine.

You can fire off several different types of liquids, including water, ice, and even vomit.

All of these liquids are going to be used as you go through things to try and attack enemies, get to places, etc.  For example, if an enemy is made of fire, some water could help.  If you need to gain more speed, ice up the floor and slide away.

The various liquids are all worked into the puzzles of the game.  The biggest issue with this though is that all of the puzzles were very straight-forward, with lacking variety.  There are not going to be too many instances where you will figure something out and say, oh that was cool.  This is due to the fact that the implementation of these various thing is almost too obvious at times.

On top of the liquids and puzzles, there is some action for you to take part in, which you will be using the Wii-mote to carry out.  By shaking the Wii-mote side to side, you can pull out your sword to attack enemies.

The combat system works, but there are times when it feels like you have to do too many things at once.  In some instances, you will have to aim the Wii-mote to spray enemies with liquids, and then turn around and try to swing your sword right away.  This is a lot to do at once since swinging the sword and spraying the liquids both rely on thw Wii-mote.  It works, the whole system just feels a bit too jumbled together though.

Beyond that little hiccup, the game is actually pretty fun to play as the swinging of the sword works well, and aiming the liquids is not all that difficult once you get the hang of it.  IT is just when you try to do too many things at once that it can be a bit of a pain.

The whole single-player experience here is pretty respectable, with the biggest issue being that it can get a little repetitive due to the lacking variety in areas, puzzles, etc.  Overall though, if you are a fan of platformers you will have some fun playing through this.

In regards to multi-player, SPRay introduces a four-player battle system with mini-games and such that rely a great deal on the various liquids.  These mini-games are innovative as you will use the liquids to try and do thing such as spray vomit on walls, create ice slides, etc.

I have to admit, the mini-games are probably the most innovative aspect of the game and present some good multi-player fun once you get sick of the single-player stuff.

If you are experienced to the point where you want something as high-quality as Super Mario Sunshine, this is not it.  The thing to remember here though is that SPRay is not a terrible game by any means, as it is certainly a game that will appeal to younger gamers out there who want a fun adventure game.

Graphics: 5.0 Not good at all, as the areas, colors and such just do not create a lively world.

Audio: 6.0 The audio works but is pretty average, sound effects are decent.

Gameplay: 6.0 The game plays out pretty fun, gets in trouble when there are too many things to do at once.

Replay Value: 6.5 Kudos to the developers for the addition of the mini-games, they are the only thing that gives this game some legs!

Final Score: 6.0

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