March 27, 2012
Pap the Disney Gamer's
Highlights: Muppet Party Cruise
Developed by: TDK
System: GameCube,
PlayStation 2
There is nothing better than
after a year or so of hard work, stress, and
family issues to spend a week aboard a luxury
cruise ship and leave behind your worries,
fears, and obligations. The Disney company
understands this greatly so one day they decided
to combine the luxury of a cruise ship vacation
with the thrills and magic of a Disney theme
park vacation, creating the Disney Cruise Line.
For years their ships have delighted families
all over the world with their services and
entertainment choices. This week our very own
Brent Dodge and the People Movers team will be
enjoying their stay at the Disney Fantasy ship.
To celebrate I will be talking about a game that
deals with a party cruise: Muppets Party Cruise!

Last November, when we were
celebrating the release of The Muppets in
theaters, you might recall that I wrote an
article detailing my desire for a really good,
critically acclaimed Muppets game as the felt
characters have yet to leave any significant
impact on the gaming industry in the same manner
as in movies, television and music. One of the
games I mentioned in that article was Muppet
Party Cruise, a title that has been universally
panned by nearly every major gaming outlet,
including Electronic Gaming Monthly's Seanbaby.
Despite that, many people actually enjoy it.
Since we are celebrating the first Disney
Fantasy cruise voyage this week, I decided to
give this game a chance here on From Screen to
Theme.

The basic premise is very
similar to that of Nintendo's Mario Party
series: up to four players partake in mini-games
while being spread out across a game table. The
player with the highest score by the end of the
match wins. The difference though is that the
Muppets are on a party cruise! Pepe the King
Prawn accidentally booked their vacation on the
lower half of the boat and it is up to the
player to take them to the upper deck where they
can have fun!

As expected, the player gets to
play as some of the biggest names in the Muppet
world, including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy,
Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, and Pepe. Other
Muppet characters from 'The Muppet Show' and
'Muppets Tonight' generations make appearances
as well, such as Randy and Andy Pig, Sweetums,
members from the Electric Mayhem, and many more.
The characters are all voiced by their original
performers, making the game authentic in terms
of Muppet characterizations and development.

There are 15 basic mini-games to
play through, each one hosted by a different
Muppet character. In addition, there are 15 more
mini-games to unlock for a total of 30
mini-games. These mini-games can be unlocked by
achieving specific tasks in the game, such as
obtaining a high score. You can also unlock
Muppetisms, a series of short videos starring
the Muppets. In comparison to Mario Party,
Muppets Party Cruise is slim when it comes to
mini-games, but the mini-games have been proven
to be fun and all around solid.

In terms of graphics and sound,
Muppets Party Cruise does a solid job of
presenting us the Muppet world in digital form.
Like I previously mentioned the Muppet
characters are performed by the original actors
from the modern day movies and TV
shows/specials. Muppet Party Cruise even
features some original music and songs that add
even more Muppet flare to the game. It doesn't
exactly push the boundaries regarding how a
Muppet game should be presented but it gets the
job done.
So in conclusion, Muppets Party
Cruise may have been poorly misjudged at the
time of its release. People do enjoy this game
despite its flaws. Call it an overall solid
design or a deep appreciation towards the
Muppets, but people enjoy it greatly, and that
is enough for me to feature it on Gamer Tuesday.