Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction Review

We're already over five years into the Ben 10 phenomenon, and it doesn't seem to be losing momentum. Kids still bang on about the cartoon show, and they still beg their parents for the action figures and duvet covers with matching pillow slips. But convincing hapless children to want a game based on their cartoon hero is the easy part... it's developing a game that is actually worth playing that has proven to be the challenge. Sadly, this latest outing by Papaya Studio doesn't do anything to buck that trend.

The Ben 10 story, for the uninitiated, follows the adventures of young Ben Tennyson - a lad who, at age 10, found a powerful artifact which gave him the ability to transform into a number of alien lifeforms. This led him into a life of defending the universe from all manner of intergalactic bad guys, while trying to keep his secret identity... well, a secret. Six years later, and Ben has grown up, his secret is out - thanks to an overzealous super-fan, and he's really taken to the role of universal crime fighter. This all forms the basis for the latest addition to the Ben 10 canon, Ultimate Alien, and it's here that our story kicks off.

That's a bit misleading, though, to be honest. See, the story doesn't so much kick off as it kind of just shows up out of the blue. One minute you're pressing the "New Game" button on the start menu, and the next thing you know, you're in the middle of it, exploring a sprawling Roman catacomb and morphing between alien lifeforms willy nilly. There was some sort of cut scene to get things started, but at no point are you sat down and told what the hell is going on here. It is just assumed that you know who the characters are and how they fit into the story. For me, a Ben 10 virgin, the whole experience just left me bewildered and a little annoyed. Those who follow the cartoon show will already know the ins and outs of the outlandish Ben 10 narrative, but the rest of us are left to figure it all out for ourselves along the way, somehow. The story was penned by the show's original writers, but it's so trivial and poorly executed that I soon found myself skipping through dialogue and cut scenes whenever possible.

Beneath the Saturday morning cartoon exterior, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction is a pretty straightforward action adventure. Levels span various stylized locations across the globe, and it must be said that the levels are quite vast for a game aimed at the younger generation. Kids tend to have wandering attention spans, and I'm not sure how many Ben 10 fans will have the dedication to sit through these missions without needing a break for Oros and a biscuit. On the plus side though, there is quite a bit of variety to each level which does help keep things entertaining.

This diversity comes mostly as a vehicle to employ the different alien life forms available. Each alien which Ben can morph into has its own special powers and abilities, and it's only by using these effectively that you will get through even the most basic of puzzle sections. You've got a turtle creature who can hover over big gaps, a big robot who can melt things with his laser beam, a huge lizard-like beast who can smash obstacles, and more, and you get to select a combination of four of them to suit your play style before each mission. Well, that's how it should have been. Instead you are given three 'suggested' forms to take with you - 'suggested' meaning that if you don't use those three there is no way you will complete the level - and one 'optional' character who won't really be of any use at all anyway. Quite why they even bothered with giving you the illusion of choice here is beyond me, since you're forced to use their suggested configuration anyway.

There is a distinct 'stop-start' nature to the levels, mostly because of the 'one puzzle - one alien' system, and this negates any kind of flow to the action. Once you become fluent with your different aliens and their abilities it becomes far smoother, because you won't have to think so much about which life form is needed for which puzzle, but it still feels like a very forced gameplay mechanic. The puzzles themselves are basic throughout, obviously to cater for a younger target demographic, so older gamers should be warned that this is not a game which taxes the grey matter. What does make Ben 10 UA: CD occasionally challenging is gaming's unholy trinity: clumsy controls, awkward camera angles and tricky platform jumping sections. These three issues combine to deliver some extremely frustrating moments, especially annoying in the middle of a lengthy (but predictable) multi-phase boss battle. There are quite a few save spots scattered throughout the levels, but I still found myself cursing profusely when my character plunged to his doom for the millionth time thanks to dodgy controls. Gameplay also feels far slower than it should be, as if your alien creature is trying to run through maple syrup, which only emphasises the frustrating controls.

When not slogging his way though the uninspired puzzle sections of each level, Ben and his alien alter-egos are faced with the daunting task of bashing away on the 'attack' button to plough through hordes of generic enemies. Your character can jump and block too, and even counter attack, but most of the time just smacking that 'X' button will serve you just fine, triggering some multi-hit combos with the greatest of ease. Later on in the game enemies do tend to get a bit more aggressive, and here you may be encouraged to counter their strikes, but the dodgy camera angles put a stop to that idea. To time your counters you need to keep an eye on an indicator which hovers over your enemies heads, but too often the enemy you are dealing with is completely obscured behind your hulking alien form, making counter attacks more about luck than skill. Just like much of this game, combat in Ben 10 UA: CD feels unpolished and half-baked.

Keeping in mind that this game was made with fans of the TV series in mind, it must be said that the look of the show is carried through quite well. It's all quite cheerful and lively with a suitably cartoon-like feel, even if some of the levels start to look a bit drab after extended exposure. Character animation isn't brilliant though, and some environmental texture quality is well below par, damaging the overall visual appeal of what is otherwise a pleasant looking title. Children's titles such as Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 have shown that a developer doesn't always have to take the easy route when making a game for a less demanding audience, but sadly Ben 10 UA: CD doesn't live up to the same standards in terms of graphics.

The people behind Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction have made a big noise about the fact that this game is as authentic a Ben 10 experience as you're going to get, with the original script writers involvement, access to all the official character art and so on. This is supposedly taken to the next level thanks to the real actors from the show doing the voice overs for their characters. The Ben 10 faithful will surely appreciate this, but I found the voice work to be lacklustre at best. The same can be said for the soundtrack, which is loaded with the same sort of generic trash that accompanied my favoured Saturday morning action cartoons as a child. It's no wonder kids grow up to listen to Lady Gaga; we are conditioned to enjoy mediocre music from childhood. Still, I'm sure the tunes befit the Ben 10 show itself, so once again fans will probably be smiling.

As an adult it's really difficult to gauge the appeal of a game like this. It's so clearly aimed at the throngs of kids who just love Ben 10 at all costs; kids who would sell their front teeth for a Ben 10 pencil case. At its core this isn't a completely horrible game, it's just a painfully average one, and one that seems to rely too heavily on its already very popular subject matter. The kids that play these games are meant to be the gamers of the future, but mediocre games like this make it look like developers and publishers are treating them like second rate citizens in the gaming world, undeserving of truly enchanting gaming experiences. If you have a little one who, like millions others, can't get enough of Ben 10 and his annoying co-stars, be sure that he or she will derive a fair amount of pleasure from this title. Just keep in mind that even the allure of a star like Ben 10 won't overshadow the frustrating gameplay and uninspired story for very long. Would I let my kids play this game? Sure, why not... but I like to think that they wouldn't want to.

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