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Strawberry Shortcake, Garfield and Cartoon Network
Product: The Game Factory Lineup
Company: The Game Factory
Date: 05/11/2006
Avaliable On:

The Game Factory announced several titles that it will be coming out with this year. These titles include the classic cartoon series Strawberry Shortcake in Strawberry Land for the Nintendo DS and Adventures in the Land of Dreams for the PlayStation 2. Strawberry Land Games allows you to compete as the title character and Blueberry Muffin in three different events: Berry Boarding, Balloon Rise and Black Licorice Leap. You will select pets that will best help you in each event as well as improve the pet's performance by whipping up delicious dessert boosters. Each mini-game has 12 stages that will have you use the system's touch-screen almost constantly.

Strawberry Shortcake: Adventures in the Land of Dreams is a platforming title that will have you explore eight large levels and six mini-games. Throughout your journey, you will have to help Strawberry obtain magic powers to unlock dreams.

This Summer, Garfield will once again work his way to the big-screen, and alongside that release will be a new video-game based following the orange-cat's new adventure. Garfield's A Tail of Two Kitties will show up on the PS2, Windows PC and Nintendo DS. In this new game, everyone's favorite fat cat has made his way to London and somehow tricked several local animals into believing he is the new big-cheese. Garfield soon uncovers a plot that involves the disappearance of the real royal-feline and now he has to save the day. The games will have the orange cat going through mini-games (like rhythm games that have you tapping the two analog sticks in time with a beat), as well as your standard 3D-platformer scenarios. The DS version of this title also takes advantage of the extra viewing real-estate of the system's two screens and the built-in microphone. The DS version seems to take on a more classical platformer style than its console and PC based brothers.

The Game Factory also has several Cartoon Network licenses. The main title is Cartoon Network Racing where players will be able to be the characters of Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Power Puff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory and many other classic characters in zany races. The version of Racing that will come out for the DS has 16 courses based upon the various CN universes. The game also sports four modes that includes Championship, Time Trial, Versus and Bonus Games. The system's touch-screen also gets a bit of use with three bonus games. The PlayStation 2 version of Cartoon Network Racing has 18 different environments available, including 12 different racing areas like Spooky Mine and the Theme Park and six show-themed locations.

The other Cartoon Network title in The Game Factory's lineup was the first video-game for the hit show Code Lyoko. Code Lyoko follows several kids who are trying to save the Earth and the parallel universe Lyoko from a dastardly villain. X.A.N.A. (the villain who is trying to break out of Lyoko) is opposed by only one other being, Aelita, and she recruits a small group of kids from our world to save both. This DS game will let you control each of the four characters: Odd, Yumi, Ulrich and Aelita. Each character has his or her own special skill-set making each one have his/her own strengths and weaknesses. The game has 40 different towers (levels) containing dozens of traps, obstacles and puzzles that help your characters level up in a classic RPG style. When in Lyoko, you will play through an RPG-like game, but when you are in the "real world" (aka our world) the game takes on a platformer style.

This company also showed off a new fighter titled Legend of the Dragon which is slated for release on the PS2 and PSP. This popular series follows Ang Lueng, the newest Golden Dragon. His job is to maintain universal balance between darkness and light. All 24 characters are playable and can move freely in the outside universe or in one of the combat areas. You will get to visit the 12 sacred temples, The Dragon Dojo, The Zodiac Master's hideout, The Temple of Shadow Dragon, The Great Wall of China and Hong Kong Bay. The game's cel-shaded style really helps to pull in the series' characters and locations to make the license's transition to the interactive-media as smooth as possible.

J.R. Nip aka Chris Meyer

GameVortex PSIllustrated TeamPS2