Neopets: The Darkest Faerie [PS2]

To those who already had experience with the world-phenomenon net game Neopets -- and would actually admit said experience in the presence of their grown-up friends -- it was more than a little surprising that it took so long for the universe to find its way to western-market console gaming. What's even more suprising is that Neopets: The Darkest Faerie is actually less-engaging than the massive cobbling of mini-games that was the Internet version.

While still steeped in the trappings of the Neopets universe, The Darkest Faerie takes a rather cookie-cutter adventure approach. Players take control of the Lupe (wolf-like) knight-wannabe Tormund and also an Acara aspiring sorceress named Roberta, each of whom have their own distinct moves. Players explore a surprisingly large world (swapping characters at will once they join up), some 60 Neopet-centric environments, meet tons of non-player characters, try their hand at the Battle Arena, collect Petpets (to assist characters with special abilities), and even see entirely new Neopian regions.

It could be called a combat-intensive platforming game...but in truth, there's not a lot of engaging platforming. And any game that encourages players to eschew combat due to a high annoyance factor... well, that's a problem, isn't it?

There's a good variety of environs to check out here, with seamless transitions between swamps, forests, dungeons, sky castles, and haunted ruins, so it's a shame that the vastness of the world actually works against players. The exploration needed to acquire items can be a grueling, backtracking business (the limitations of travel was never a problem in the admittedly disjointed Net phenomenon, enjoyed by some 30 million players).

It's random fetch-quest galore here, and it never stops -- save the occasional halt to actually fight. Alas, the fighting is subpar. The camera is not reliable, and it's all too easy to rely on mechanical patterns to ensure victory. What challenge there is to combat dries up quickly, even for a "kiddie" game. Again, for some real absorbing challenges that will suck the hours away, you're better off with the Internet Neopets option.

Most of the charm here comes from finally being able to explore a 3D translation of the Neopets universe -- one with a comprehensible, time/space relationship, a world that can be physically traversed and explored for all its characters, secrets, and Neopets in-references.

The game's palette is friendly and toy-like, as it should be, with unique characters and a very clean presentation. It's cute enough to douse the memory of the combat, which is no bad thing. And the "mote" collection system lets players change the effects of certain items, effectively adding an overarching puzzler-feel.

Obviously, hardcore gamers wouldn't think to approach such a kid-slanted game to begin with... but even casual gamers will need to take this cutesy, mostly empty challenge with a few grains of sugar. If you or someone you know still has the occasional Neopets badge file on a computer desktop somewhere, this console iteration is a neat, albeit short-term romp to see Neopia in a new, candy-colored 3D realm. Beyond that, there's not enough action/platformer fiber, and even the young'uns may find themselves longing for the mini-game galaxy of Neopets.com.