Game Reviews

The Great Prank War

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The Great Prank War

Adding to the Cartoon Network's ever-growing stable of iOS releases, The Great Prank War sees the Regular Show cast slotted into a simple tower defence formula.

But can strong production values overcome a developer devoutly clinging to generic conventions?

Things start off strongly, with an opening cutscene detailing how, after his defeat in the season three episode 'Prankless', the dastardly Gene used a time machine to kidnap the instrument of his failure, Muscle Man, turning the tide of the battle and devastating all who stood in his way.

With Skips also missing in action, it's down to Mordecai and Rigby to open several cans of whoop-ass on Gene and his many, many minions in a bid to rescue their comrades and rid the park of Gene's toxic influence once and for all.

Still with me? If these characters mean nothing to you, chances are that The Great Prank War won't either. While it's lovingly put together and competent in every way, its adequate gameplay, short length, and limited voice-work from the main cast mean that this is one for the fans.

Mordecai combat

You start each level by picking two characters from a roster of four, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Then you dash around repetitive stages to take out Gene's forces in humourous, non-lethal ways - flinging toilet paper, wielding dead fishes, or whipping baddies with towels.

Tapping a foe targets them, with your hero automatically attacking until either the opponent falls, or you swap to your second character to let your first regain some health.

While basic minions can be mostly ignored, victory is assured when you defeat each stage's 'pranking machines' - glue guns that slow you down, tomato shooters, egg launchers, and fart blasters that take potshots at you.

Destroy a pranking machine and you can replace it with your own, all but halting the gradual progress of mindless minions on their way to your base. That base takes the shape of Benson's car, and you can repair it by tapping an icon if you need to.

Helluva Rigby

With the pranking machines out of the way you're free to take out the stage's base or screen-filling boss, each a mighty contraption that looks and sounds great, but poses no real threat or challenge.

While it would be remiss to bemoan the incredible ease of a game aimed at children, mini-missions that must be completed to earn three stars do very occasionally prove tricky.

Sometimes you can't let weaker characters get knocked out, or you need to finish a level in a set time limit. But these tough little nuggets are few and far between.

That's a pity, since after completing the 16 stages on offer here, there's not much to keep you coming back. Some form of leaderboard, time trial, or challenge mode showcasing the more devious mini-missions would have ensured at least some degree of longevity.

Despite the stages being rather plain and perfunctory, notable fan-pleasing props from the show are scattered around each level, most of which provide a simple interaction if tapped.

But those nice touches can't hide the fact that The Great Prank War is a very slight game, offering a limited and confined experience that, excellent production values aside, never really takes any chances or offers anything worth returning to.

The Great Prank War

While some good things come in small packages, the limitations of this beginner's tower defence title means that The Great Prank War is more The 'Meh' Prank War to all but die-hard Regular Show fans
Score
Giles Armstrong
Giles Armstrong
Having worked in the games industry since 2007, Giles knows a thing or two about how good video games are made, why bad games happen, and that great games matter. A Game & Narrative Designer by day, story-based games are quite literally his bread and butter.