Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge Updated Hands-On
We head on down to Halloween Town for a fresh look at this video game sequel to Tim Burton's beloved film.
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas endures as one of the most darkly endearing films of all time. And while the original continues to stand on its own, Jack Skellington has begun to make forays into new territory. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge brings the lanky lord of Halloween Town back for some new adventures on consoles. While the PlayStation 2 version is already out in Japan, we're set to see both PS2 and Xbox versions of the game this year. And after spending some time with the game, it looks like Jack has been keeping busy in the time after the movie's end.
The industrious Pumpkin King isn't content to rest on his laurels. He wants to continue to make Halloween an ever bigger, grander holiday. To this effect, Jack receives a gift from the wizened Dr. Finklestein called a "soul robber," a spectral ribbon with many useful properties. While Jack is away cavorting with his new toy, however, the mischievous Lock, Shock, and Barrel plot to bring back the wicked Oogie Boogie from the dead. And the raised Oogie Boogie, in true villainous fashion, soon sets about taking over Halloween Town and as many other holidays as he is able. Jack Skellington returns to quite a mess, and it's up to him to reclaim his holiday, free the others, and send the infamous bug lord packing yet again.
We were able to get some nice time with three different levels in the PS2 version of the game, and the soul robber is both an exquisitely mobile and useful tool to have. (Since Capcom built the game using the Devil May Cry engine, this might explain some of the ease of combat.) Pressing the square button lets Jack lash out with the glowing green ribbon at enemies in front of him, while pressing the triangle button lets him use the soul robber to latch onto things. These things can be objects in the environment, grappling hooks, or even enemies, as the soul robber is apparently coated with the best ethereal adhesive known. He can pick up items or monsters many times larger than he is and flail them about, damaging them or using them to beat other foes.
Pressing square along with circling the left analog stick will cause Jack to execute a stylish spiral, as well as twirl his weapon at the same time, which is handy for clearing out a pack of ghouls around you that's trying to get too chummy. Jack can also charge his soul ribbon for even-more-powerful attacks. If you hold down the square or triangle button for a few seconds, the corresponding attack you'll unleash is much greater. For example, the square melee attack, when charged, increases the size of the soul robber and gives it a spiky morning star on the end, letting it more vitally damage a group of enemies.
The triangle charge is even niftier. If you manage to charge your weapon and latch onto an enemy, you'll begin to whirl them around you in a circle. If you keep pressing the triangle button, you'll continue to spin the enemy round and round, and any foes in the vicinity will be drawn into the vortex and completely obliterated.
If you don't want to spend the time charging your weapon attacks, you can also "taunt" your foes by pressing one of the directional buttons while near them. If you're successful, they'll sprout angry exclamation points over their heads and become even stronger. A successful taunt means that your soul robber is automatically charged, so you can flay about yourself with reckless abandon to take down the angered creatures without that pesky waiting. As an extra bonus, taunted enemies will drop even more goodies than they would normally, so it's worth ticking them off if you feel you can handle the added animosity.
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- GameSpot Score6.4fair
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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge Gameplay Movie 8
Jack works his way through a dangerous area in this clip.
- Oct 13, 2005
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Images
- Buena Vista Games
- Capcom
- Horror Action Adventure
- Release: Oct 10, 2005 »
- ESRB: Everyone 10+
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