The grim adventure?s of Billy and Mandy is a popular show on Cartoon Network. The plot of the story is about 2 kids, who tricked the grim reaper into becoming their best friend forever and must not kill anyone while they?re friends. The show is popular with children over the age of 7 because the show is rated TV-Y7 for some language. The show is also popular with some adults as well because of their crude yet funny comedy.

Story (if you haven?t played this game yet):

Grim, Billy, Mandy and Irwin discover that Grim?s chest has been raided. Mojo balls have been released into the world, causing strange magical effects and infecting people with rage. Random fights have broken out everywhere.

The four decide to track down the thief, chasing a trail of battles and chicken feathers.

Game Info:

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy video game pits the characters from the popular Cartoon Network television show against each other in a fighting-adventure game, filled with mayhem and chaos. In battle mode, up to four players can use a multitude of weapons in destructible arenas like the Desert of Doom and the Underworld to battle it out to be the last one standing. Players also have the option to play on their own or with a friend in mission mode, a series of 45 missions where players can unlock new weapons and characters like Hoss Delgado and the Boogey Man.

* EXPERIENCE THE CARTOON: Become a part of the uniquely bizarre and animated world of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy for the first time on consoles. Whether players use Billy?s berserk attack or Mandy?s deadly smile, all characters feature unique abilities based on their personality. The game recreates the emotions of the show by pitting the characters against each other in an all-out on screen brawl!

* MISSION MODE: Mission mode can be played as either a single-player or a two person cooperative game. Mission mode takes players through 45 missions with unlockable rewards, including new characters.

* MULTI-PLAYER MAYHEM: In battle mode, up to four players can choose characters, arenas, weapons and battle parameters to unleash a fierce competition to be the Last One Standing.

* INTERACTIVE ARENAS: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy videogame features the unpredictable environments that Billy, Mandy, Grim and Irwin visit in the show. From Billy?s house to the Afterlife to Toadblatt?s Coliseum, players can smash objects,
destroy environments and battle in eight fully interactive arenas.

* 15 PLAYABLE CHARACTERS: Gamers can choose to play as one of fifteen characters from the show including Billy, Mandy, Grim, Irwin, Hoss Delgado and many more, each equipped with their own unique attacks and weapons

* Exclusive Wii Features:

????????? Choose your controls! Use either the Wii-mote/NunChaku or GameCube controller.

????????? Eight new weapons, including the Banana Crossbow, Sting Bomb and Horror?s Hand.

????????? Additional tier in Mission Mode, complete with nine new battles.

????????? New power-ups and battle parameters.

????????? Complete the Final Elimination maneuver by aiming the Wii-mote at targets as they come up on the screen. Complete the sequence to knock your opponent out of the game.

When I first inserted this game into the Wii and started playing the first thing I noticed is that there is no difference between both versions of the Billy and Mandy for the Cube or the Wii. It didn?t take long before I got used to the controls and started having fun but the realized that you can only do a hard swing with the Wii-mote if you move it. The rest of it is played with the buttons. I passed story mode in less than 45 minutes and unlocked all 15 characters while playing through it. The only difference is a few added weapons, and a few more mission modes and of course $20 bucks more that the Cube version. I played the gamecube version and already knew what to do so there was really nothing in the game that I haven?t seen. I wish it could have had a deeper story mode or more battles, but unfortunately that didn?t happen

Game Play:

When you first start the game you only start out with a few characters from the show and you need to unlock every other character. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy features 15 playable characters each with their own unique fighting style and well as finishing moves. The game or should I say the characters will not die until you pull a finishing move. You have to follow the onscreen commands in order to execute your characters finishing move or just aim at the targets with the Wii-mote to finish them off.

The environment is interactive with many things to destroy and throw your opponent to. This game is as violent as other fighting games but it still manages to keep the comedy and pull a laugh or two from the player. Just like the show things happen without notice, for example on the first level when you think you?re finishing all of the sudden the entire ceiling comes crashing down without a warning. Of course you don?t die but it is funny. There are also other levels where you need to keep moving or you can throw your opponent off course like in lava which they loose health every time they?re thrown over board.

The camera stands at a 4^th or 5^th person point of view on stages arenas and on 4^rd person point of view when you?re side scrolling while fighting. Side scrolling fighting can be really interesting because you need to focus on your opponent and on the thing that is chasing you.? The camera seems to work perfectly for this game especially since the environment is destructible.

The characters always start out with 3 lives and like any other fighting game you need to defeat them 4 times before moving on. The reason you have to defeat them 4 time and they only have 3 lives is because 0 always counts as a life point.

Graphics:

The game features Cell Shaded graphics which is the choice of most games that are based on cartoon shows. The reason why they go with this kind of style is because the developers still want to keep the game close to the cartoon and it seems to work for some games such as this one. During the cut scenes you actually forget you?re playing the game and watching the show.

There is no difference between the Gamecube version of Billy and Mandy and the Wii version. The characters and the environment along with the blockades of monsters move a little bit more smoothly on the Wii Version. The Wii is technically considered Current Gen and I think that?s what really hurts this game in the long run. As of now I?m playing with the standard cables but maybe the graphics will look even better when I get the Component cables and play it with progressive scan.

Sound:

With voice over from the entire original casting this game keeps its originality especially with the sound. It never gets old for you to hear grim screaming in pain or to watch him burn his behind on lava or even watch his hole body splatter into the screen. With destructible environments and a surround sound system this game can be really enjoyable, but since I cannot afford a surround sound system and all I have is a standard TV with Standard speakers. But just because I don?t have that doesn?t mean that the sound is not great. I can still enjoy this game even with the basics.

The music is featured in the show as well as the game. The music changes depending on the level and the situation you?re on. The music is OK you?re really not missing anything if you turn it down or up. Although the final boss music is pretty catchy with that whole Brain, Brain song.

Controls:

This game can be played with the standard Gamecube Control or the Wii-mote, but before you get down to beating your opponents read the manual on the controls section for the Wii. But it is not necessary. The controls are easy to understand. You or you?re little brother can pick it up and play like pro?s beating each other to death in the game. The controls respond well to commands from the player that you are able to execute combos with no problems. There are really no skills required to play this game however it will require other sets of skills that you need to learn and get used to such as dodging and learning to pick up weapons.

The cut scenes are fun to watch but if playing with the Wii-mote if you tilt it a bit then it cuts the scene and moves on to the next level. Even when I tried to put the Wii-mote down carefully it still skipped it.

Life Span:

With multiplayer, mission and story mode this game should provide you with a couple of hours of game play fun. Unlocking every character does not take long to accomplish. All you need to do is complete story mode once and all the characters are unlocked after that. You can play story mode so much before getting bored of the game itself. The game offers little replay value and after a few days you will definitely be bored of the game. If you?re like me you will put this game away for a few years and bring it out later on, if not then you will probably go trade it in at your local game store.

Closing Comments:

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy is a button smashing fun game, although throughout the entire game all that you will be doing is pressing on the Button B which is for punching and A for Jumping as well as swinging the Wii-mote for harder hits. The game is fun for both kids and adults. It is very addictive to little kids if they are fans of the show. The down side is that the game costs $49.99 for the Wii, $20 bucks more than the GameCube version it is really not worth it when you think about it.

There is really no difference between both versions except for maybe a few additional weapons and a few side missions. The Wii plays gamecube games so I would recommend that you get the gamecube version. Unless you already put your gamecube to storage or you sold your gamecube to buy a Wii the maybe consider getting this game for the Wii.

Game Play: 15 characters with their own unique style and interactive arenas with many traps. 9/10

Graphics: Cartoon style cell shaded graphics that work with the game not against it. No difference between the Wii and the Gamecube. 7/10

Sound: Great Voice Over from the entire cast and sound effect. 8/10

Controls: Very responsive and easy to control. But it does not use the Wii-mote?s full potential. 7/10

Life Span: Only offers a couple of hours of Game Play fun. 5/10

Total Score: 72% = C

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Reviewed By: NightHawk