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A Museum not Worth the Price of Admission
posted by JMichaud (BETHESDA, MD) May 12, 2009
Member since Jan 2008
1 out of 4 gamers (25%) found this review helpful
If there's going to be a trend of making games based on museums, then they will have to do a much better job than the two already out now. (This game and Escape the Museum.)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is based on the movie of the same title. You play as the main character, Larry, the security guard.
In this game, you wander about a 3D platformer, taking on missions, gathering all sorts of things, piloting vehicles, making jumps, and dealing with bad guys.
But the most important thing you do is gather up several gold ingots (squares) that have been spread over a few musuems. Each ingot gives you a power you will need to use to solve puzzles.
The eight powers are mixed; I like the paintbursh power to bring paintings to life, but not the animal control one (a pain to use), or the gear and "fix it" powers (boring.)
Another problem I had was the button mapping. I would prefer to have the jump button mapped to the A button and the "use the ingot" button mapped to the B button. But the game makers don't do that; they have it reversed.
The game's not very long; it would probably take from four to five hours for most players to get through start to finish. You can try to get all the collectibles and awards, but I wasn't temped to try that.
It also contains many bits of information about historical men, women, and items. I would rather have the game makers stick with a game and not a trivial educational device.
Other features this game has that can go are the basic minigames. There's a game where you stack blocks in the right way, one where you move creepy crawlies to the right spots, and a multiple choice trivia game. They're completly forgettable.
Throughout the main game and mini games, you get points you can use to unlock bits of information or the concept art (another feature that didn't thrill me one bit).
Unless you are a big time fan of 3D platformers, you can skip Night at the Musuem: Battle of the Smithsonian.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is based on the movie of the same title. You play as the main character, Larry, the security guard.
In this game, you wander about a 3D platformer, taking on missions, gathering all sorts of things, piloting vehicles, making jumps, and dealing with bad guys.
But the most important thing you do is gather up several gold ingots (squares) that have been spread over a few musuems. Each ingot gives you a power you will need to use to solve puzzles.
The eight powers are mixed; I like the paintbursh power to bring paintings to life, but not the animal control one (a pain to use), or the gear and "fix it" powers (boring.)
Another problem I had was the button mapping. I would prefer to have the jump button mapped to the A button and the "use the ingot" button mapped to the B button. But the game makers don't do that; they have it reversed.
The game's not very long; it would probably take from four to five hours for most players to get through start to finish. You can try to get all the collectibles and awards, but I wasn't temped to try that.
It also contains many bits of information about historical men, women, and items. I would rather have the game makers stick with a game and not a trivial educational device.
Other features this game has that can go are the basic minigames. There's a game where you stack blocks in the right way, one where you move creepy crawlies to the right spots, and a multiple choice trivia game. They're completly forgettable.
Throughout the main game and mini games, you get points you can use to unlock bits of information or the concept art (another feature that didn't thrill me one bit).
Unless you are a big time fan of 3D platformers, you can skip Night at the Musuem: Battle of the Smithsonian.