While movie tie-ins are generally released on the back of the big screen premiere or the DVD release Ubi Soft chose to roll out Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon in the middle of nowhere with little fanfare or publicity. Even stranger was the fact that we'd previously played a version of the game at one of Nintendo's Christmas bashes almost a year before. Questionable release scheduling aside though, CTHD (which we'll now call it or I'll never finish this review) was something of a sensation at the turn of the millennium receiving rave reviews and becoming the first foreign language film in the United States to earn over $100 Million. There's no denying its beauty either. Ang Lee's constantly shifting directional style makes for some incredible visual poetry. So it's clear that the film was a hit and its martial arts theme seems the perfect starting point for a GBA title. But why has it taken so long to release and is it any good? Read on and see...

GamePlay: It wouldn't be unfair to the say that, in the gameplay at least, there's little new in CTHD. Levels generally require you to get from 'A' to 'B' battling it out with all manner of enemies whilst collecting as many bonus items as possible. What makes the game enjoyable though is the variety employed in achieving this. Players not only have to jump up walls but also enter buildings in order to satisfy the level criteria. There are also some sections that require the kind of 'floating jump' used to such effect in the movie. Ang Lee described the effect as weightlessness rather than simple 'flying' which was the general assumption. These are generally 'push scroll' levels that can be completed at your own pace unlike the more exciting scrolling levels where a rather persistent assassin pursues you. Your character can also be enhanced with the help of various power ups although you will have to collect the required number of bonus items before these can be activated. Moving away from the platforming there are also several horseback sections. Like the main game these are reasonably simple to complete as you can not only judge when danger is imminent but you're also armed with a lots of deadly darts. Finally we have a password continue which is not nearly as painful as it could be with only four digits but we'd still prefer a battery save.

Control: Before you even start CTHD you'll be treated to an impressive display of potential moves thanks to the 'Kung Fu Guide' at the top of the menu system. Clearly the developers saw this as a key element to the game as mastering the various attacks and combos will greatly increase your chances of success. The guide itself allows you to select a move and see the whole thing performed in demo mode complete with an on screen guide to the controls. This continues in the early stages of the game where any difficult or new concepts are explained, although ironically this is one of the features that make the game a little too easy.

Graphics: While CTHD has its obvious visual highlights the whole thing is really a bit of a mixed bag. The problems appear to stem from the developers being a little over ambitious so the lush visual style from the film struggles with its conversion to the GBA. For the gamer this means backgrounds that can occasionally look a little scrappy with the huge number of cut screens delivered at such a low resolution that they occasionally appear grainy and uninteresting. On the other hand the visuals are never so badly rendered as to make the game confusing or difficult to play. Although you would think this would be the bare minimum expected for a GBA title I have encountered this problem in several previous games. The big plus is definitely provided by the main sprite animation, which is both pleasing and highly athletic. It's clear that this is the visual aspect the developers have focused on but a little more work on the backgrounds would have been very welcome.

Sound & Music: Sound on the GBA has always been problematic for developers and cramming quality audio onto already expensive carts is always a challenge. Do you create a low memory midi version of your required soundtrack or simply stick a far more beefy sample that occasionally compromises both graphics and other sound effects? The developers here have opted for the current favorite: the sample. The only way around this however is to make it incredibly short and then loop it which this snippet from the score does. The outcome is something you ignore or audio that drives you half mad as it just keeps repeating. The rest of the sound effects are as expected so we can only hope that the memory capacity of the DS in some way allows developers greater freedom in this department.

Final Comments: If you're getting a little tired of games being just a little too difficult to complete then CTHD could be exactly what you are looking for. That's not to say that that it's a completely simple affair as each of the dozen or so levels provides a decent and varied challenge while also giving you a reasonable sense of satisfaction on completion. A helping hand is given via the sheer volume of bonus items lying around; food (for health) and green dragons (for extra lives) are dotted around everywhere. On the minus side it does mean that the whole experience is over a bit too quickly with little to bring you back for a repeat performance. While it lasts though it's thoroughly enjoyable and a great companion to the film.

Pro: Impressive Array of Moves
Con: A Little Too Short
Final Score: 5.9

Reviewed by: Andrew Blanchard