Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (PS2) (gamespot)

- gamespot -

Here's a little videogame history for you: This game isn't the first time that Charles Schulz's famous beagle has taken on the dastardly Red Baron in the digital realm. In 1983, Atari released Snoopy and the Red Baron for its Atari 2600 system. It was a simple game, but it was also surprisingly fun. Over 20 years later, not much has changed as this latest encounter between the "funny-looking dog with a big, black nose" and Baron Von Richthofen shares those same attributes.

If you've ever read the Peanuts comic or watched the animated specials (in particular, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown), then you know that one of Snoopy's recurring fantasies is that he is a World War I flying ace, using his doghouse to shoot down the infamous Red Baron. This game is set within one of Snoopy's dreams, where his doghouse becomes the imagined Sopwith Camel biplane, and the neighbor kids become military allies in a fantasy version of WWI-era Europe.

Campaign mode is the game's main story mode, and it begins with a cinema scene setting up the story. These scenes go a long way in making the game feel like a Peanuts special. The Vince Guaraldi-esque music mixed with the somewhat stilted dialogue reading from the child voice actors lends an authentic feel to the proceedings. Some might dislike the fact that the characters are all rendered in 3D during the cinematics instead of traditional 2D animation (or at least with cel-shading). Personally, I kind of dig the fact that the cinematics look like a living version of the old Peanuts View-Master reels from the late '60s. I doubt this is what the developers had in mind, but I'll chalk it up to happy coincidence.

A Real Dog Fight

The game itself is a flight combat game. Given that it's targeted at younger players, it's less of a sim and more arcadey. Think of it along the lines of Crimson Skies, Jr. During most of the game's stages, you can fly wherever you want, shooting down enemy planes and other targets. As you progress through each mission, you'll constantly be updated with new objectives that you'll have to accomplish in order to emerge victorious. I do wish that more voiceover was used during the missions. When you're in the thick of battle, it can be difficult to read the latest objectives while trying to dodge enemy fire. I could see this being an even bigger problem for the young audience that this game is geared towards.

During a few boss battles, the action gets changed up a bit. Sometimes, Snoopy will be chasing the boss, which has you constantly flying forward. All you need to do here is attack the boss's weak points and dodge its attacks. Other times, you are in control of Snoopy's feathered friend, Woodstock, who is being pulled in a small glider behind the Sopwith Camel. Woodstock acts as a gunner, blasting away at the boss. You needn't worry about steering here, as Snoopy flies around on a predetermined course. Both of these types of battles add a little variety to the gameplay.

In between levels, Snoopy returns to the hub world, which is on the Peanuts baseball diamond. Here, you can get some flight training from Marcie or visit Pigpen's shop to purchase upgrades with coins that you collect in each stage. The upgrades include added health, firepower, and "stunt power." The stunt power affects how long you can pull off special moves like barrel rolls and turbo boosts. You can also buy new secondary weapons that add to your arsenal. One annoying factor I noticed is that some levels require a specific secondary weapon to complete. Unfortunately, you don't learn this until you're about to start the stage. More than once, I was forced to replay old levels just to earn more money because I had just spent all my coins on upgrading my Camel, unaware that I needed to save some cash for the new weapons.

Nickels, Nickels, Nickels!

You can also use your money to purchase new characters for use in the game's multiplayer mode. When you earn everyone, there will be 13 characters to choose from. There are three multiplayer modes, but they're all variants on the same theme. Sadly, they only support two players, and there's no online play. In an attempt to make up for this, there are bots that will allow up to eight planes in a battle at once.

Top Dog is a simple deathmatch where you fight until you reach a reach a set number of kills, Flying Aces has you fighting for a set amount of time, and King of the Skies only allows you to be shot down once, and when you are, you return to the fight as a ghost. These multiplayer modes are a mild diversion, but given the limited options, they won't keep you entertained for long.

Given how similar most of the combat is, there's not a lot of depth to Snoopy vs. the Red Baron. Still, it would make a great game for a younger gamer in your life. The simple gameplay and relatively low difficulty serve as a great introduction to the genre. It's also fun enough that you might find yourself getting involved in it, too.