The Kore Gang: Outvasion from Inner Earth

Space - the final frontier. We have little knowledge of what's out there. But we have almost as little knowledge of the Earth's core. There might be one or two theories floating around, but they are clearly unfounded. There is no lava core in the centre of our planet, but instead there is a whole civilisation. And as with us surface dwellers, not all residents are friendly and peaceful.

The three Krank brothers have kidnapped Dr. Samuelson and now strive for world domination. And they no longer find the inside very comfortable. Therefore they have painted the interior of Earth with a blue cloudy sky. And when it gets dark outside, a bright crescent moon shines.

This is where seemingly by accident we meet the hero of our game. Her name is Pixie and she's an acrobatic climber, who comes across Dr. Samuelson's robotic suit, that grants you special skills. Thanks to the robotic suit Pixie will be able to navigate passages that take a little extra skill. Madboy is your main weapon of choice as his physical strength allows to to clobber enemies. His dog Rex also has his skills improved by the suit. He possess great speed and his hearing is also improved.

These aspects of the game were already a part of the design when the game was planned for release on the original Xbox. But other aspects of the game have been redesigned with the Wii in mind, by German developers Snapdragon Games. Some of these ideas are really neat. Rex can eaves drop on specific enemies from a distance, and when he has tuned in to the correct frequency you will be able to hear the sound through the Wiimote. Another feature that has been improved thanks to the Wii, is Pixie's grappling hook, which is easy to use as you point your Wiimote wherever you wish to grapple.

Unfortunately, the overall controls are a bit imprecise. Furthermore, on a big screen TV it's not always easy to see which character inhabits the suit, and it can take several tries to complete certain sections, because at a crucial moment the required ability isn't available. The camera is also a complete disaster. When a game actually provides you with the option of manually adjusting the camera, it should be made much more user friendly. Whether you opt for the d-pad or the Wii Remote, you are going to need a lot of patience.

What makes matter worse is the uneven quality of the visuals. The design of the characters is original and entertaining, and the design of the areas is also nice. But you will only see how potentially awesome the game could have looked in the cutscenes. Elsewhere the textures are lacking and the polygon count is low. It works decently for The Kore Gang: Outvasion from Inner Earth, but looks a little old fashioned. With Super Mario Galaxy 2 fresh in our minds, it's clear to see that this game isn't pushing the hardware.

But even if there are technical shortcomings, the game is full of witty ideas and has a wacky sense of humor, sometimes a little reminiscent of a Tim Schafer game. The singing sequences with crazy creatures which are woven into the story from time to time, have an incredible catchy tune. The fact that you unlock these outside of the game by collecting Zeek medals, is enough to keep me a motivated collector.

Another one of The Kore Gang: Outvasion of Inner Earth's greatest strengths is variation. The jump and run basics of a platform game are spiced up by so really insane level design and Duck Hunt-esque shooting segments for instance. There are thirty levels in all, none of them are huge, and the entire games takes about eight or nine hours to complete. The level design is entertaining throughout, and there is a level that resembles an insane asylum, where you will begin to second guess your own sanity.

The game is rather easy, although some bosses, who incidentally appear multiple times, are a real challenge. However, as you have an unlimited amount of lives, the worst penalty you can get is that you have replay a section of the level. This also makes the somewhat inaccurate controls and the annoying camera more tolerable.

To sum it up The Kore Gang: Outvasion from Inner Earth is a great addition to the Wii library. Despite a troublesome camera, there is plenty of humour, love and witty dialogue to compensate the hardcore platformer fans who want to save Earth from an enemy from within. The Kore Gang: Outvasion from Inner Earth really stands out among the many mediocre titles on offer on Wii. Just based on the number of times it will make you smile, it's certain to find a place in a platform lovers heart.