Game Vortex Review: Wonder World Amusement Park

Matt Paddock writes:

''It hit me halfway through Wonder World Amusement Park that the entire experience was the equivalent of playing a bad licensed game, in this case for a nonexistent movie. This joint is replete with the faults and foibles of the rushed, poorly thought-out games that have their original inspiration in a film, comic, or television show. Wonder World Amusement Park has some of the visual impact of a carnival, but instead of actually wandering through a simulated carnival, you're presented with a 360-degree view of several attractions that you can click on to play. This may have seemed like a better choice than just a series of mini-game icons available to select from a menu, but the feeling of the game ends up being static, with minimal interactivity outside the mini-games. If you come to the table expecting a mini-game collection you'll be fine, but the promotion for Wonder World Amusement Park gives the impression that there's more free roaming and exploration, an entire carnival to explore.

The best we can say is that the cuffs match the collar when it comes to the different themes of the carnival. The spooky section has spooky attractions, spooky music, and characters that are at least dressed in spooky attire. All the special areas must be opened up by playing in the generic area, which was a really poor choice from a design perspective. We should be able to mix and match and explore areas depending on our mood, but instead we're stuck plowing through each section to unlock subsequent areas. Considering there isn't anything to do in each area other than play a handful of mini-games, the ability to change scenery is critical to avoiding boredom. Without this, the player is left grinding on the same few mini-games to earn points necessary to move forward.'' 70/100