Meet Bert. He's an Oogani, part of a vast tribe of small, devilish, rabbity-things with an appetite for mischeif, and an equally insatiable hunger for food.... and everything else.
With a grin like that, you know he's trouble.
And although he may look somewhat disconcerting, it's Bert here - or rather, one of Ooganis in the game that you'll take control of, as you embark on an epic quest, to re-unite the ancient tribes of Ooga, and, well, eat everything that gets in your way.
You see, eating things is a key element of Ancients of Ooga, a side-scrolling, co-operative platform game by NinjaBee, the people who bought you Outpost Kaloki X, Band of Bugs, and A Kingdom for Keflings, and J. Kenworthy Entertainment, who were the brains behind fellow platformer Cloning Clyde.
And with a pedigree like that, it's no surpsise how Ancients of Ooga's turned out - a family friendly, co-operative game, that requires a surprising amount of thought and logic for a platform game. Going far beyond the usual realms of just jumping and running, Ancients of Ooga engages the old grey matter in a number of unusal ways.
The different Ooganis you come across each have different properties, that grant them special abilities. Thankfully, the Ooganis are colour coded, so you won't have to remember a specific Oogani's name, and switching between them is a question of simply tapping the left or right bumper. Still, searching a level to find an Oogani of the right colour, is a key challenge in many levels.
It's behind you.
As we mentioned earlier, the Ooganis like eating things - and it's not only food they eat. There are plenty of items hidden around the level that you'll need to transport to various places, and your Oogani's mouth works like a giant pocket. If you see something interest, just stand next to it, hold a button, and your Oogani'll suck it up and start chewing on it. Certain things you'll swallow won't do anything, but others will grant you special powers - such as the one that lets you hover. Helping to cut down on the backtracking, by letting you transport "things you think you might need" in your mouth, the swallowing is a great idea, but it's also one with a unique twist.
When you're playing with a younger child, due to the nature of the game, you may come across tricky jumps, enemies, or other obstacles that the child simply can't get past. By standing next to their character, and holding a button, you'll actually suck up and start chewing on their Oogani - something kids are going to find hilarious, when they work out they can do it - but something that's also incredibly useful for helping them get past tricky sections, as they don't have to worry about anything, (apart from drool, and the smell) safe in the confines of your mouth.
These sacrificial altars let you make a sacrifice to the Gods - here, you'll need a red Oogani. Just swallow one up while he's not looking...
With enemies to defeat, objects to collect, switches to throw and items to move, there's plenty of variety to the game's 50+ levels (which is a huge amount, anyway), helping to keep things fresh. With a variety of different objects, and Oogani's to speak to, the game rarely feels stale - and, with the entire game playable in split-screen co-op, this is the perfect game for a parent and child, or two children or parents on their own to play through.
While it can ocassionally be a bit frustrating, trying to work out either what you're meant to be doing, or where you're meant to be going, Ancients of Ooga is a game that'll challenge your brain, encourage you to work as a team, and make you laugh in equal amounts. For 800 points, for what the developers say is up to 15 hours of gameplay, it's well worth the money.
Format Reviewed: Xbox 360
