The Suite Life with Zack and Cody: Tipton Trouble
Score: 85% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Buena Vista Developer: Buena Vista Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Family/ Action/ Platformer
Graphics & Sound: The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble is another quality production in a category (licensed games) that sees far too little quality. The look of the game is great, colorful with creative camera angles, but designed to keep things on rails and virtually eliminate issues with perspective. This is a "buddy" game and both characters are playable and on the screen together in most cases. This system could create clutter, but the developer used the touch-screen to keep the main screen clean. The controls are identified with icons, but there is plenty of reading required to learn the new controls and understand what is happening in the game. The music is good, but there isn't enough variety. The sound could have been more integrated into puzzles since the DS is capable of doing so much more in this department.
Gameplay: The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble does a nice job with a style of team-based gameplay that has been popular now for years. In many cases, this "buddy" game or squad-combat concept works well to make a standard platformer or action game more interesting. Certain puzzles in Tipton Trouble can only be solved by one member of the team and the game gives clues as to when a switch is needed. Playing the two boys is extra fun for fans of the show and the game is true to the style that Zack and Cody have in the show. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody always involves some madcap hijinx in the hotel where the two boys live. Tipton Trouble probably goes further than the TV show toward some extreme scenarios like alien invasions and haunting. This may be too intense for small children, but they aren't going to get into the game in the first place because of all the required reading. Since aliens, robots and ghosts make for better action in a game, you'll find them here. You'll also have a chance to play "search and/or destroy" missions that involve characters from the show like Mr. Moseby, London, Esteban, Arwin and Maddie. All these missions involve the team dynamic and make use of special skills that Zack and Cody possess. Zack is the more athletic of the two and takes a hands-on approach to solving puzzles. Cody prefers to use gadgets and solve puzzles with the modified vacuum cleaner Arwin rigged for him. There are multiplayer mini-games that provide token multiplayer action. Why multiplayer wasn't the focus of the game is a complete mystery. Seeing the collaborative gameplay, it is impossible not to imagine playing through the main adventure with a friend. Being able to control the two boys in single-player is certainly fun, but there should have been more focus on multiplayer for the main game. Having mini-games with wireless multiplayer is such a tease... The object of the mini-games is racing skateboards or toy sailboats and they are both lots of fun. The sailboat game even includes the microphone breath control, something that was really neglected in the main game where it could have been more widely used.
Difficulty: The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble plays on rails the entire time which is a blessing and a curse. Older gamers looking for adequate challenge may not find all they want here. Younger players who need help with reading will find the heavy focus on text in the game to be a turnoff. The remainder is in the cracks with those who like a modest level of challenge and can sit patiently through the dialogue that moves the story forward and gives hints on gameplay. The puzzles involve combinations of each boy's core play style. Few puzzles require keys or items. Less item collection is a nice thing to see after playing too many kids' games that were nothing more than big treasure hunts.
Game Mechanics: The team-based gameplay here relies heavily on the touch-screen and makes good use of the DS. When the boys can team up, you'll see icons appear in the lower screen and be able to make the change by tapping. Zack's style is much like any third-person action game, with lots of jumping and climbing. Cody has his feet on the ground more of the time and prefers to use his fancy vacuum cleaner to solve puzzles. Sucking and blowing by using the vacuum will move objects, launch either boy into the air or shoot projectiles. For parents concerned about violence, what I call shooting is relatively harmless unless you worry about destroying robots and ghosts. Tipton Trouble hedges too much for my taste between the creative, icon-based navigation in the touch-screen and the reading required to keep track of the game's story and the individual characters. There isn't much in the way of item management to be concerned with and there aren't lots of menus to work through that would have kept younger gamers in the dark. This being the case, it would have been nice to have seen simpler visual cues during the game to keep things on track rather than requiring that gamers spend so much time reading. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Tipton Trouble does a nice job of bringing the twins into the gaming world with a bang. Younger players with some patience and help from a parent or older sibling can get plenty of enjoyment out and grasp the gameplay easily enough. They'll need some help with puzzles. Older gamers won't have as much challenge, but they'll definitely enjoy playing through the game. Multiplayer mini-games don't provide nearly enough additional depth to make the replay value high, but it's nice to have them. The overall experience would have been better if more multiplayer focus had found its way into the main game or if there were more options for wireless multiplayer action. A solid title that should probably be on the holiday short-list for Zack & Cody fans.
-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock
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