Tak: The Great Juju Challenge (GameCube)

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Carrie Gouskos
• Reviewed on: 09/29/2005
• Released on: 09/19/2005

Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge is the third iteration of the Nickelodeon-fueled Tak franchise, which focuses on a young (or maybe he's old--but he's certainly cute either way) tribal boy named Tak and his dopey buddy Lok. The story centers around a competition that happens once each generation, called, you guessed it, The Great Juju Challenge, which tasks competitors with completing various levels, competing in vehicle destruction challenges, beating the clock, and scoring the maximum number of points. The gameplay focuses on the balance between Tak and Lok's different moves and how they work together, and you can play single-player with the computer's help, or you can play split-screen cooperative mode with another player. Tak 3 certainly has some adorable moments, but they're overshadowed by a frustrating design and sloppy gameplay mechanics. If you're looking for a fun and interesting platform experience that won't infuriate you, you can do much better than Tak 3.

The Great Juju Challenge is a contest held every 60 years in which teams of two vie for the favor of the Moon Juju goddess. The teams accrue points through a successful combination of defeating enemies and building up the time limit on each level. This year, Tak and Lok have been chosen to represent the Pupanunu tribe and must compete against three other pairs, Team JibbaJabba, Team Grammazon, and the nefarious Team Black Mist. Although Tak and Lok are the underdogs, they have a fair number of moves between them, as well as the skills to take the whole competition...at least when the other teams aren't cheating. The story is, in fact, one of the best aspects of Tak 3, since the dynamic between the two characters and how they interact with others is quite cute. Lok is especially charming in the way that dimwitted characters always manage to be endearing. Though things seem to go wrong for Tak and Lok on a pretty consistent basis, you're guaranteed to root for them from the get-go.

The characters are cute and endearing.

There are a number of individual moves and combination moves that make the gameplay varied, at the very least. Tak (the smaller of the two characters) can swim, be tossed around, and is pretty adept with magic. Lok (the muscle) can climb vines, throw Tak and barrels, and has a special relationship with gorillas. In one particularly amusing sequence during the training section, Lok tells Tak that he won't get in the water. It's not because he's afraid or can't swim, but it's because fish hate him. The camera then cuts to a fish who's giving Lok a deadpan scowl, and the sentiment is absolutely conveyed. Later on in the game, both players get the opportunity to change into different costumes, which opens up new abilities to them. Lok uses a lobster suit, and thus is able to go underwater and can pinch at things while he's submerged. Tak's chicken suit lets him ride air vents into the sky, where he can then launch egg grenades. It's in these moments of hilarity and utter cuteness that Tak 3 becomes truly endearing. It's unfortunate, then, that there's so much sloppy gameplay around to remind you otherwise.

Each level is relatively linear, except there are certain areas that one character can reach and not the other. The two must work together to both find all the checkpoints and flag them so they can progress through and eventually unlock the exit. Some puzzles require the two players to work together, and often this means that Lok must toss Tak up to a cliff that's virtually unreachable. Many such checkpoints that necessitate this maneuver ensure that both players are going through the game at the same pace. All this is good in theory, but it doesn't work well in the game. One of its greatest flaws is since the game is designed to be played by both individual players and two players cooperatively, it isn't specifically optimized for either. In single-player, you can switch which character you control, meaning you can do everything (if you desire).

The problem is that if you attempt to do everything yourself, it will be a long and tedious process full of busywork. Then again, the computer artificial intelligence isn't that great, so relying on a computer companion is a lesson in patience. For example, we found a couple of patches in the game where your computer-controlled teammate will just run into a thorny bush, losing health the whole time. If you play two-player, however, the game's action is halved, so you'll often find yourself just standing around waiting on a switch while your friend does something else. Of the two, cooperative is the preferable option, and it's truly one of the game's few accomplishments, if only because of its unique implementation. Tak 3: The Great Juju Challenge's greatest technical achievement is that you can swap the second player in and out of gameplay on the fly, without all the pesky requirements of menu navigation. Simply stick in the second controller, pause the game, and select "Lok Join." The screen splits down the middle, and the two of you are off. Even though there are some technical difficulties with the mode pertaining to dying and respawn locations, the pain of the game is a lot more bearable when you have a good buddy to share it with.

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