Teen Titans

Introduction

I have always been a fan of the hit television series Teen Titans on Cartoon Network. The show's action-filled and amusing episodes, combined with the unique and occasionally comical characters, prove for an entertaining animated series. Unfortunately, the series was canceled by Warner Bros. and the final episode, "Things Change", aired on January 16, 2006. The video game "Teen Titans" came out four months and eight days later on May 24 and is available for play on PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. When I became aware that a Titans video game had hit the shelf, I purchased the game online five years and six months later for my PlayStation 2.

The Story

In the Titans' world, the superhero team receives a strange video game starring themselves as the protagonists. After Robin, the leader of the team, requests to see the game after Beast Boy fails a level, there is a blinding light. The Teen Titans are then sucked into the gaming realm, however, they are unaware that it has happened. After a fight with Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth, they realize that something is not right when Cyborg's logs have suddenly lost six weeks of data, leaving the Titans to wonder: "How does time just disappear?"

The Titans then begin their search for the answers they so desperately desire while facing some of the most notorious villains that Jump City has to offer. The Titans battle evildoers such as Mumbo Jumbo, Cinderblock, and Slade, along with a few other dastardly criminals like bunnies. Yes, bunnies. After every villain is defeated and the last boss is gone, Robin puts the pieces together and discovers who is behind the video game fiasco... namely, you, the player.

After the credits (which you are, unfortunately, not able to skip through) finish rolling, you see the team in the Ops room doing their own activities. Raven announces that she still feels as if they were being watched, and Beast Boy, who turns to the camera, smiles and holds up the controller while asking, "Wanna play again...?"

Gameplay

Teen Titans is an RPG. While you play, in the upper left hand corner is a head shot of which Titan you're currently playing as. Underneath the head shot are two meters: an Energy Meter and a Charged Attack Meter. The Energy Meter shows your health while the Charged Attack Meter is used to show how many more times you are able to power up your attacks. You can charge your attacks by holding down the attack buttons.

The attack buttons are as follows: ■ is known as a Fast Attack, ▲ is known as a Strong Attack, and O is known as a Special Attack. The X button is simply for jumping. Each Titan has a different attack for the three buttons. For all the Titans, the Fast Attack are merely punches and kicks being thrown at the enemy or target. For Robin's Strong Attack he uses his Bo Staff, spinning it rapidly at the enemy, and for his Special Attack he uses his Birdarangs to launch at enemies that are far away. Raven's Strong Attack is known as the Mystic Wave in the game, where she uses her telekinesis to punch an enemy, and her Special Attack is called the Raven Attack, where she sends energy flying towards enemies when they are out of reach. Cyborg's Strong Attack would be called the Roundhouse Punch which is just a stronger, but slower, punch directed at an enemy, and his Special Attack would be his Sonic Cannon where he shoots at different enemies. Starfire's Strong Attack is called a Sun Blast, where she throws an Uppercut at a foe and causes a wall made from her star bolts to attack the enemy, her Special Attack is her Star Bolt which is exactly that. Beast Boy's Strong Attack is the Titan Punch, which is similar to Cyborg's Strong Attack, and his Special Attack is Bananas where he shifts into a monkey and begins to hurl said fruit.

Throughout the game, you play as a team. If you play alone, the computer plays as the other four Titans as you play whichever character you desire. A great feature in this game is the ability to switch team members in real time, meaning that you don't have to use the menu screen or restart the level completely to play as a different Titan. Whenever one wishes to switch characters, you may press the directional buttons either to the right or left. It is a good option to have if you ever find that one of the characters simply isn't doing it for you.

As an added bonus to the game, on the main menu screen you are able to choose "Master of Games", where you can battle a friend or the computer as your favorite Titans or villains. There are a total of 45 characters available for battle in the Master of Games mode, all of which can be unlocked through playing the game in Story Mode. Unfortunately, some characters in the Master of Games are unplayable in Story Mode. There are the five original Titans, along with a few other Titans like Terra, Hot Spot, Speedy, and other "versions" of the original Titans like Apprentice Robin, White Raven, and Mega Meaty Meats Employee Beast Boy! Of course there are also villains that are available for play as well, like Red X, Mad Mod, Control Freak and even Trigon! In Master of Games, you can also choose the "arena" you wish to battle in. Arena's can vary to the Titans East Tower, Mad Mod's Mad Mansion (try saying that fast ten times), and even everyone's favorite Titan, Larry's World!

Graphics

Compared to the Game Boy Advance version of the game, the visuals differ greatly. The GBA version is 2D while the console game is 3 Dimensional. Still, however, I cannot say much for the graphics. They are not outstanding, though they are not awful either. The Teen Titans look rather odd and bulgy, and not at all smooth in some parts of the game. The colors in the outfits look a bit dull, but it's not all bad I suppose. If I had to give the graphics a rating, I'd give them a 7.5/10 and even then that is being generous.

Overall

Finally it is time to conclude this review. While this game is entertaining and fun, it still has it's faults. The graphics aren't great and the animation can be a bit off occasionally. It even gets a bit repetitive and can sometimes require a break from the game. However, there are also things that make this game loads of fun, like seeing your favorite characters and being able to play them, their witty comments while fighting baddies and in the clips between levels, and of course the fact that the cast from the television series is casted in the game. It's a fun game that I, personally, do not get tired of playing. In fact, I wrote this review while I played the game. Needless to say this is a great game for any Teen Titans fan and I can guarantee you that you will find this game to be entertaining. This is a favorite game of mine in my whole collection, and so I will be rating this game an 8.5/10.