Garfield (2004)

Garfield
Garfield isn't trying to hide the mess, he just realized what the developers did to his game and doesn't want you to buy it.
Genre(s): Action Platform(s): Microsoft Windows PlayStation 2 Release: Microsoft Windows DE: November 18, 2004 FR: November 26, 2004 WW: May 17, 2005 PlayStation 2 EU: November 19, 2004 Engine: RenderWare Developer(s): The Code Monkeys Publisher(s): Hip Games Series: Garfield

(Not to be confused with the obscure Java mobile game tie in to Garfield: The Movie)

Garfield is a video game based on the comic strip series of the same name originally created by Jim Davis in 1978. It was developed by The Code Monkeys studio and published by Hip Games. It was released in November of 2004 in Europe for the PlayStation 2 and Windows computers, with the Windows version releasing worldwide in May 17th, 2005.

Plot

Jon is very upset with Garfield's mischief, having scratched his chair, eaten his lasagna, and shredded his favorite suit. Once Jon leaves the house, Garfield starts to watch TV with Jon not around and drifts off to sleep. One moment later, he wakes up to a giant mess inside the house caused by Odie, and Garfield gets worried because if Jon would see this mess, he would blame Garfield for it and force him to go on diet. With Jon arriving soon, Garfield has no choice but to clean up the house with the help of a vacuum cleaner Odie found.

Why It's Worse Than Any Monday

1. Repetitive gameplay: the player's main objective is only picking up (or rather sucking up) objects and setting them into the right location. It feels more like a point-and-click game or a webgame than an actual video game.
2. Ugly graphics far below the capabilities of the PS2's graphics processor, with the models feeling more like a late PS1 or Dreamcast game.
3. Stiff controls and physics. Garfield's jump is ridiculously short and he falls way too fast.
4. Bad lips movement synchronization with the voices in cutscenes. Half the time, the lips barely move.
5. Horrible voice acting, with Jon Barnard's portrayal of both Garfield and Jon being the biggest example, as he doesn’t show any emotions into their voices.
6. The whole game is poorly designed in many ways:
   • First of all, the game gives you a time limit of eight hours to clean up the house, but it can be finished within four, meaning it's near impossible to get a Game Over. It's like a failed attempt at mimicking the dawning time limit of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
   • Garfield always says something whenever he does anything from picking up and object to putting it where it belongs, which is annoying.
   • Odie will repeatedly try to bother Garfield by running into him throughout the game, though his AI is badly programmed.
   • Speaking of Odie, Garfield can kick Odie to stop him for a very short time, but he can't kick any other enemies in the game like the spiders.
   • Arlene gives Garfield a side quest of collecting several flowers for her, but they are scattered in nonsensical locations around Jon's house as opposed to the garden.
   • There are jigsaw pieces to collect throughout the game, but to collect them all you'd have to clean the attic last, as cleaning any other room like the kitchen instead would play the ending cutscene.
   • The only purpose of the jigsaw pieces are to unlock a jigsaw puzzle that's eerily similar to one you'd find in a Phoenix game, in addition, only 50 pieces are needed to play despite the game having 58.
7. The cutscenes do not appear in a resolution higher than 1024x728.
8. The game has four minigames included that are terribly generic and lazy alongside the aforementioned jigsaw puzzle. These include a race with Odie and Nermal, a round-up style game in the attic where Garfield has to put moving toys back in the closet, and a rip-off of Columns you'd find on the game disc.
9. The PC version uses the infamous StarForce DRM, which is known for causing instability issues and even crashes.

Redeeming Qualities

1. It was the first 3D Garfield game. Although that's not saying much.
2. Decent soundtrack.
3. Good voice acting by Frank Welker.
4. Every once in a while, you will find references to the comics, including a comic strip, and artwork of the characters.
5. You can actually explore the entirety of Jon Arbuckle's house in 3D.

Reception

The game was rated 2/10 by PlayStation 2 Mag UK , 4/20 by JeuxVideoPC.com, and 3.0/10 by Gry-Online. Most of the negative comments were about sloppy controls and ugly graphics.

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