Disney's The Emperor's New Groove Action Game

$29.99, Win, PlayStation

Teaches: logic, strategy

CTR Review

This is the best of the recent batch of games revolving around the Disney film, The Emperor's New Groove. The self-absorbed Emperor Kuzco is in a real fix. He's impulsively fired his royal advisor (and sorceress), Yzma. In her enraged state, she tries to "put Kuzco to sleep" but instead turns him into a llama. Llama Kuzco ends up on the top of the mountain in a small village. The goal of the game is to help the llama make his way back to the palace to find a potion that will turn Kuzco back to Emperor. This is no easy task, however. There are coins to collect, secret passage ways to explore, puzzles to solve, and combinations to figure out. Kuzco essentially jumps and kicks his way through each chapter, ultimately finding his way back to the palace. The game play is fun but challenging, the graphics are colorful, and younger testers appreciated that the dialog was read aloud. The puzzles aren't always easy to figure out� in fact most players had to enlist the help of older siblings and parents. All things considered, this is a solid game, with a strong theme and a wide variety of activities. Note that the Win and PlayStation versions of the game are identical.