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IGN Review of Back at the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games
It's no secret that the Nintendo DS has become a veritable mini-game compilation dumping ground. This isn't to say the genre itself is inherently bad, but the massive influx of quick cash in mini-game titles certainly hasn't helped to break the stereotype. Let's be honest, the DS needs another mediocre mini-game compilation like a ferret needs a tomato launcher. Unfortunately, Back to the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games gives us both.
Calling Slop Bucket Games' main play mode "Story Mode" is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, all of the action is framed by the fact that Otis the Cow has invited you to the annual Slop Bucket Games Championship, but the narrative ends there. What follows is a series of ten mini-games all based loosely on a cartoon barnyard theme, all accessed via a farmland overworld where players interact with various Back to the Barnyard characters.
The challenges themselves, the one characteristic upon which any mini-game compilation lives or dies, vary in overall quality. There are two mini-games in particular, Melon Race and Junkyard Hijinks, that stand out above the others. Both have players driving vehicles to reach checkpoints strewn about a never-changing track, gaining as many points as possible before time runs out. The vehicles control decently enough, making these short segments one of the most appealing pieces of the package. They manage to distinguish themselves primarily due to their visuals, as they're the only three-dimensional mini-games in the whole collection. In fact, along with the barnyard overworld, Melon Race and Junkyard Hijinks are the only three-dimensional elements to be found in the entire title. It's a bit jarring to jump from the well-rendered 3D barnyard to the low-resolution two dimensions offered by the rest of the game, especially considering few of these challenges offer up anything but recycled mini-game staples.
Whack-a-Rac is one of the few two-dimensional mini-games that offers anything remotely new or DS specific. This particular event is essentially the classic whack-a-mole game save for the fact that instead of moles you're hitting raccoons and coyotes by tapping their heads. The only other distinction between the barnyard version and the original is that certain coyotes will throw paint across the screen if they aren't stopped in time, forcing players to wipe off the view-obscuring paint with the stylus before points can continue to be accumulated. It's a subtle distinction, but it's one of the few times that Slop Bucket Games manages to successfully utilize the DS' unique functionality and deserves to be commended.
The other mini-games are less entertaining, most of which are more blatant rip-offs of popular games you can play online for free with a very slight barnyard twist. There's a motorcycle stunt mini-game called Stickbike Stunts using motorcycles made out of – what else? – sticks, as well as a helicopter rescue clone called Balloon Shepherd using a hot air balloon instead of a rescue chopper to deliver stranded sheep safely back to the barn. Frankly, the Back to the Barnyard license just isn't being used effectively in Slop Bucket Games. You can take air hockey and replace the mallets with horse brushes all you want, but it's still just air hockey.
Playing through the game's story mode unlocks all of the mini-games for play in the "Quick Event Mode," where players can retry any of the previously unlocked challenges. Beyond that, unfortunately, there's really no lasting appeal to be found in Slop Bucket Games. There's not even any sort of multiplayer mode included, a glaring omission considering the social focus of most other mini-game compilations. I unlocked the entirety of the game's content in less than an hour and, aside from attempting to beat my own scores in "Quick Event Mode," don't see any reason why I'd ever pick the game up again. Players looking for an experience with long legs beware, Back to the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games won't satiate even the leanest gaming appetite.
©2008-11-06, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Calling Slop Bucket Games' main play mode "Story Mode" is a bit of a misnomer. Sure, all of the action is framed by the fact that Otis the Cow has invited you to the annual Slop Bucket Games Championship, but the narrative ends there. What follows is a series of ten mini-games all based loosely on a cartoon barnyard theme, all accessed via a farmland overworld where players interact with various Back to the Barnyard characters.
The challenges themselves, the one characteristic upon which any mini-game compilation lives or dies, vary in overall quality. There are two mini-games in particular, Melon Race and Junkyard Hijinks, that stand out above the others. Both have players driving vehicles to reach checkpoints strewn about a never-changing track, gaining as many points as possible before time runs out. The vehicles control decently enough, making these short segments one of the most appealing pieces of the package. They manage to distinguish themselves primarily due to their visuals, as they're the only three-dimensional mini-games in the whole collection. In fact, along with the barnyard overworld, Melon Race and Junkyard Hijinks are the only three-dimensional elements to be found in the entire title. It's a bit jarring to jump from the well-rendered 3D barnyard to the low-resolution two dimensions offered by the rest of the game, especially considering few of these challenges offer up anything but recycled mini-game staples.
Whack-a-Rac is one of the few two-dimensional mini-games that offers anything remotely new or DS specific. This particular event is essentially the classic whack-a-mole game save for the fact that instead of moles you're hitting raccoons and coyotes by tapping their heads. The only other distinction between the barnyard version and the original is that certain coyotes will throw paint across the screen if they aren't stopped in time, forcing players to wipe off the view-obscuring paint with the stylus before points can continue to be accumulated. It's a subtle distinction, but it's one of the few times that Slop Bucket Games manages to successfully utilize the DS' unique functionality and deserves to be commended.
The other mini-games are less entertaining, most of which are more blatant rip-offs of popular games you can play online for free with a very slight barnyard twist. There's a motorcycle stunt mini-game called Stickbike Stunts using motorcycles made out of – what else? – sticks, as well as a helicopter rescue clone called Balloon Shepherd using a hot air balloon instead of a rescue chopper to deliver stranded sheep safely back to the barn. Frankly, the Back to the Barnyard license just isn't being used effectively in Slop Bucket Games. You can take air hockey and replace the mallets with horse brushes all you want, but it's still just air hockey.
Playing through the game's story mode unlocks all of the mini-games for play in the "Quick Event Mode," where players can retry any of the previously unlocked challenges. Beyond that, unfortunately, there's really no lasting appeal to be found in Slop Bucket Games. There's not even any sort of multiplayer mode included, a glaring omission considering the social focus of most other mini-game compilations. I unlocked the entirety of the game's content in less than an hour and, aside from attempting to beat my own scores in "Quick Event Mode," don't see any reason why I'd ever pick the game up again. Players looking for an experience with long legs beware, Back to the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games won't satiate even the leanest gaming appetite.
©2008-11-06, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved