The game features the main characters from The Croods including Grug, Ugga, Eep, Thunk, Sandy, Gran and Guy as playable characters. Other recognizable characters and locations are taken from the movie for the game adaptation as well including the lovable sloth Belt, voiced by director Chris Sanders in the game as well. The game doesn't feature much of a storyline, but fans of the game are sure to have a few laughs playing as their favorite character from the film or while traveling through the brave new world of Tomorrow.
The Croods: Prehistoric Party! offers several ways to play including playing each of the 30 mini-games included with the game or playing a longer board game with mini-game tiles located around the board. Up to four players can join in a session (with one person controlling the Gamepad while playing on Wii U) with a goal to reach the finish line first in Trailblazer or to gather the most eggs in Hunter Gatherer mode. 30 different mini-games ensures there will be some games that certain members of the family will enjoy more than others, but a vote is cast before each mini-game begins to ensure the favorite of the three choices is always selected. Each game comes with instructions and tutorials to make sure everyone knows the rules and controls before a game begins as well. Some gamers may find the constant switching back and forth between the buttons and the touch screen a hassle, but it doesn’t impact the overall enjoyment of each game.
The Croods: Prehistoric Party! features five different game boards in total with only the desert stage available when first booting up the game. Each game played will go towards unlocking a new board, and Prehistoric Points will be earned in each session as well that can later be used to unlock a plethora of goodies included in the game including concept art, character stills from the film, trailers and more. This ensures players always have a reason to keep coming back to the game to unlock 100% of the in-game items in addition to having a good time with the family. There are even some hidden easter eggs in the game for players to seek out and enjoy for themselves.
The presentation quality is surprisingly high for The Croods: Prehistoric Party! The game does feature second string voice actors that tend to drag down some of the game's authenticity, but it's hard to argue against the fun selection of mini-games, most of which play really well if over-simplistic. Whether you and your family are carefully traversing through Gerbil Hurdles or channeling all artistic ability while Cave Painting, players are sure to be having fun and being glad you picked up this title for a low price. Beat the heat this Summer with The Croods: Prehistoric Party!
Game Features:
Offline Multiplayer 1-4
30 Unique Mini-Games
Play as Characters from The Croods
Game Information:
Developer: Torus Games
Publisher: D3Publisher
Platforms: Nintendo Wii U (reviewed), Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS & Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: March 19, 2013
