Video Game Review: ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’

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CHICAGO – Majesco’s odd Nintendo DS version of “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” is a movie tie-in that uses the term more loosely than any in a very long time. Guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller in the movie), Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), and Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) all make appearances, but what the rest of this title has to do with the movie is beyond me.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Photo credit: Majesco

It feels like the game version of “Battle of the Smithsonian” was developed not only without the assistance of anyone involved in the production of the feature film but only with the most distant awareness of what it was about. What’s ironic is that the movie plays a lot like a child’s game and could have easily been tied to a handheld experience.

The DS version of the “Battle of the Smithsonian” plays like someone was given a set of words related to the film and then instructed to do whatever they want. I may not have the memory I used to, but I certainly don’t remember Larry finding magic ingots that gave him the power to fly, grow, shrink, or super jump. And the villains/story are mere shadows of the film, if you can even make out what they are.

In “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” the players guides Larry through a series of side-scrolling levels. To fight enemies, he shines his flashlight on them, and he gains the aforementioned powers through the finding of ingots that he can switch as the situation demands it.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Photo credit: Majesco

Clearly designed for kids, the story of “Battle of the Smithsonian” is paper-thin with players supposedly going through different sections of the Smithsonian but without enough background detail or design elements to really tell the difference. The prehistoric section sort of comes to life, players visit ancient China, and even fly through Space. It’s SO barely related to the movie that all it really has in common is a night guard and a museum setting.

Which brings us to the biggest problem with “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” - the presentation. The back of the box advertises Ben Stiller’s likeness. If you saw the polygon creation in the game without knowing which celebrity it was supposed to be, you would never guess that it’s Stiller. The graphics are abominable.

I know, I know, it’s a kid’s DS game, who cares if the it doesn’t look great? Because kids are getting savvier about these kinds of things and they deserve better than something that pales next to most Gameboy titles. I know the DS is not a graphics giant, but “Museum” is still disappointing, looking nearly incomplete at times.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Photo credit: Majesco

It may not look great and it may have very little to do with the actual film, but how does it play? I have to admit that this old-school platformer addict found the gameplay relatively easy to master and clearly developed with a child’s enjoyment in mind. It’s repetitive - jump, flash, special power, switch, learn a little lesson about history, repeat. But platformers are usually repetitive, especially kid’s ones, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

The fact is that so many of these movie tie-in games get dull quickly and even though I had serious problems with the “Museum 2” title (most relating to story and graphics), I must admit that I was never bored. For most parents looking for a game to give their kids, “never bored” is about all they need to hear to justify a purchase for a long road trip.

And that’s what we need to keep in perspective. Just as the film was designed for families more than film critics, the game is designed to give the babysitter a break or give Jimmy something to do on the way to his grandparents again. Judged on that level, it could have been a lot worse. Judged with a critical eye or the gameplay experience of an adult, it should have been a lot better.

‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’ was released by Majesco Entertainment and developed by Fizz Factor. It is rated E (Everyone). The version reviewed was for the Nintendo DS but the title is also available for the Wii and XBox 360. It was released on May 5th, 2009.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Anonymous's picture

help .

hello, i need help completing one level.
i have completed 70.3 % .
and i can’t complete the level.
can you please help me ?

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