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Jumper: Griffin’s Story Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Jumper: Griffin’s Story Review for Xbox 360 (X360)

Perhaps the Saddest and Shortest Story Ever Told

Video games that are based on movie franchises usually end up being less than stellar. There can be a variety of reasons for this, but in the end most movie games are just completely disappointing. Perhaps the most typical reason for a movie game’s lack of quality comes from companies having to release it simultaneously with the movie’s release whether it is complete done or not. That being said, Jumper: Griffin’s Story was released at the same time as its movie’s theatrical release.

Jumper: Griffin's Story screenshot

The storyline involved in Jumper is a fairly interesting one. Jumpers are born with a genetic anomaly that allows them to instantaneously teleport anywhere they wish to go. Paladins have been fighting a war with the Jumpers for centuries, trying to wipe them all out. Instead of controlling Hayden Christensen’s character in the game, you will instead be given control of Griffin, a lesser character from the movie. Jaime Bell, who also played Griffin in the film, voices Griffin but there are no other authentic voice talents present in the game. As Griffin, you will need to combat the bloodthirsty Paladins while trying to avenge your parents who were brutally murdered before your eyes.

While the storyline is interesting, the game itself really isn’t. Griffin’s Story is a third-person action game that heavily focuses on melee brawling. Each of the controller’s face buttons corresponds to a teleport attack from its specific direction. Hitting the X button will have you teleporting in from the left side and striking your foe while pressing the A button will do the same but from the front of your enemy. Each of your enemies will have a segmented ring around their base that covers all four directions. If the ring is blank or green in a direction, it is okay to attack from that side but attacking on a side that is highlighted red will result in an enemy counterattack. These segments will continually change but will also frequently follow set patterns. You will really need to pay attention to these patterns to succeed. Because of this, the game’s combat feels oddly similar to playing a more violent version of Simon.

Jumper: Griffin's Story screenshot

Throughout the game, you will also be able to unlock combos and discover new weapons that will aid you in taking down your enemies. The combos are fairly straightforward, but they aren’t especially useful. You won’t really be able to make use of them because of your enemies’ innate ability to hit you right in the middle of performing them. This can make playing Griffin’s Story incredibly frustrating, especially since you are fighting large groups of enemies most of the time. Finding new weapons will help you defeat your enemies quicker, since each one you find does a little more damage then the last. Unfortunately, they are all fairly generic and can’t be upgraded in any way.

Perhaps the highlight of this game comes in the form of its Drop Zone kills. Randomly, while fighting an enemy, you and the enemy will suddenly disappear. Next, the game gives you a lovely cinema of whatever terrible way your character decides to dispatch the enemy. These will range from dropping an enemy next to an active volcano and watching them burn to leaving them in the atmosphere to suffocate. These are all pretty interesting and entertaining the first time around. Regrettably, there are only a handful of different Drop Zone kills so you will get a ton of repeats in no time at all. At least you are given the ability to click through them once they become old hat, which happens very quickly.

Jumper: Griffin's Story screenshot

Playing the game is made more difficult than it needs to be due to its lazy camera. The camera will rarely give you the view that you need, but it can be moved so that you can correct it. Unfortunately, you will need to take your thumb off of your attack buttons to use the thumbstick to reposition it, which leaves you open to attack. More importantly, since the game’s combat relies heavily on your ability to see the ring around your enemies’ feet, having a bad camera angle makes successfully attacking enemies an unpredictable chore. The camera will also get stuck on just about anything in the game, leaving you completely nauseated and lost most of the time. This horrible camera succeeds in sucking just about any enjoyment that you could possibly have right out of this title.

Jumper: Griffin's Story screenshot

Sadly, Griffin’s Story looks just about as bad as it plays. Graphically, the game can easily be compared to an early PS2 game. Character models all look fairly generic and lack any real detail. There are only about four different enemy types in the game so you will be fighting the same ugly looking characters over and over again. The levels aren’t designed particularly well either, most just being made up of a few hallways and rooms that all look very similar to the last hallway/room you were just in. Not to mention, the “cinemas” are just made up of slightly animated still pictures with voice work and music laid over them. I know that this is just a movie-licensed game, but this level of ugliness is still unacceptable for an Xbox 360 title.

If Griffin’s Story does have a redeeming quality, it has to be that the game is incredibly short. You will easily be able to complete this game in two to three hours tops. The experience may be painful but not unlike removing a bandage, the quicker it’s over the better. This is also an excellent title for players who are obsessed with getting achievement points. If you can at least stomach this game for the two to three hours, you will most likely unlock every achievement this game has. It only includes twenty, and they are worth fifty points apiece. These aren’t incredibly difficult to achieve either; I honestly got half of this game’s points in the first half-hour of gameplay.

I really can’t recommend this game to anyone. With its incredibly short play time, lack of any reason to play through more than once, horrific camera, and just overall feeling of being rushed to the market, Jumper: Griffin’s Story is unlikely to make anyone glad for the experience. Perhaps this game could have been slightly better if it had been delayed and released when Jumper eventually got released on DVD. In any event, the only possible reason anyone should play this game is for some super easy achievement points and even then, only if you are desperate.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 1.5 Graphics
This game is extremely graphically underwhelming period. 3.2 Control
The fighting mechanics aren’t horrible but the ridiculously bad camera certainly make them feel that way. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Jumper’s sound department is competent at best. It is incredibly disappointing that they couldn’t get Samuel L. Jackson to lend his voice talent to the game, or anyone else from the movie besides Jaime Bell for that matter. 1.0 Play Value
Two hours of gameplay for one thousand achievement points. This may sound like a good ratio to some but will leave anyone not fishing for achievements fighting to get their money back. 1.8 Overall Rating – Avoid
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Jump Ability – Use your teleportation skills to “Jump” within hand-to-hand combat range of an enemy to start dishing out devastating blows.
  • Combos – Exciting and intense layered combo fighting system
  • Finishing Moves – Instantly teleport enemies to exotic perilous locations to finish them.
  • Enemy classes – Deeply ranked hierarchy of Paladin enemy types.
  • Exotic Locales – 5 combat arenas set all around the world – Colosseum, Griffin’s Desert Lair, Nepal, Tokyo Streets, and Experimental Lab Facility
  • Unlockable abilities – Unlockable skills and combos through gameplay.
  • Available February 12th – releasing the same week as the theatrical release
  • Available for the X360, Wii, and PS2 platforms

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