Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge [PS2]

Fans of 1993's Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas won't find a sequel on the silver screen anytime soon, but those who own a Xbox or PlayStation 2 can revisit the creepy Halloweentown once again with this serviceable interactive follow-up to the beloved cult classic.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, which takes place a year after the events in the movie, once again stars the bony Jack Skellington. Jack has returned from vacation to face off against his malevolent nemesis, Oogie Boogie.

It seems the diabolical O.B. has not only declared himself king after populating Halloweentown with menacing skeletons (and changing its name to Oogie Town), but is about to kidnap the leaders of other holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Valentines' Day. To make matters worse, Jack's lady friend has been held against her will atop a tower, but her letter makes its way to Jack, alerting our hero about Oogie's plans.

It's up to you as Jack to stop your archrival and his bizarre minions before all the holidays are gone forever.

Played from a cinematic third-person perspective, this action-adventure begins as Dr. Finkelstein equips you with a weapon known as the Soul Robber. Consider it a green, flowing whip that can be used in a number of ways. For one, it's a weapon that can knock bad guys off their feet without you needing to get too close to them. Pressing another button on the controller uses the whip to pick up an enemy, who can then be tossed elsewhere or slammed into other enemies like a bowling ball smashing through pins.

As Jack discovers early on in the game, the Soul Robber can also be used as a climbing apparatus; for example, latch onto a rooftop like a grappling hook, and you'll pull yourself up on the house to find another way inside. There are other uses for this wrist-mounted Soul Robber, but we don't want to give it all away.

Similar to Devil May Cry, Jack can rack up combo points by successfully fighting off ghouls without losing a step; gamers are then awarded a combo score following each level (and are graded in other areas, such as damage, time, and secrets found), which leads to bonuses and other unlockable content. Score an A in all departments and you're sure to see everything the game has to offer.

Throughout the more than two-dozen levels, Jack can also transform into other characters, such as Santa Jack who can throw poisonous packages and the Pumpkin King whose fire-shooting skills will come in handy. Fallen enemies release souls (and other goodies) that can be used by Jack to purchase weapon upgrades and new characters to morph into.

Boss fights introduce a kind of Dance Dance Revolution -like rhythm game, whereby colored musical notes fly in a circular pattern around Jack and players must press the corresponding button on the controller at the right time to defeat him. Alternatively, you can fight boss characters by using weapons such as the Soul Robber, but it takes longer and isn't as much fun. Because all of the regular battles are played more or less the same way (approach enemies, beat them up and then collect their souls), these music-based boss battles are a welcomed change of pace.

Perhaps 10 to 15 percent of the game involves puzzle-solving, such as finding ways to unlock new areas or picking the right kind of attack to defeat a specific baddie, but players shouldn't have too much trouble solving these occasional head-scratchers.

Speaking of music, the game features familiar ditties from the feature film as well as a new assortment of melodic tunes with silly lyrics. Comprised of 10 songs in total, the soundtrack is one of the game's strengths as it's professionally written and recorded (a personal favorite of this reviewer: "Only in Your Dreams"). Once heard during gameplay, you can hear any of the songs whenever you like in Jack's House. For the most part, voice talent is extraordinary, although Jack yelling "Soul Robber" every time the whip is cracked can get very annoying.

Graphically, the game bears resemblance to Burton's dark, surreal, and atmospheric flick. All the key characters -- such as Jack, Oogie Boogie, the eccentric Dr. Finklestein, and the scheming Lock, Shock and Barrel -- all look terrific, though many of the enemies have a generic and nondescript look to them.

One of the game's biggest weaknesses, however, is the fixed camera angles. As with early Resident Evil games, you'll walk into an area and the camera will switch to a new view of the locale -- without giving the gamer the option to swivel the camera around for a better view. Many times, we found ourselves pushing on the controller's right analog stick to move the camera but were quickly reminded the option isn't available.

Another beef is frequent load times. They're not terribly long, but it happens way too frequently when roaming about the various areas within the towns. Naturally, this hurts the game's pacing and all-important immersion factor.

Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge is a recommendable buy for fans of the film, and a decent pick for action gamers in search of a lighthearted single-player adventure with lots of character. This B-grade game isn't going to win any awards, but as far as movie-related video games go, it's one of the better entries.