Tak and the Power of JuJu

Tak and the Power of JuJu is an entertaining and funny little platformer that will keep the young kids entertained.

It's the evil shaman's fault. Yes, old Tlaloc has turned everyone into sheep out of jealousy. Not only that, but he stole the Pupununu people's Moon Stones too. But prophecy tells of a cunning warrior called Lok who will set everything to rights and vanquish the evil Tlaloc, alas he's been turned into a sheep too, so it's up to village idiot Tak to save the day.

Thus begins, Tak and the Power of JuJu, a colourful and entertaining platform game from THQ. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but it will certainly keep the kiddies entertained. Tak must set out and get all the ingredients necessary to return Lok to human form. The poor lad is aided by the Juju spirit, who has been summoned by the village elder Jobolba. That spirit is the player, which is explained through the games first cutscene.

The controls are nice and simple and explained in the first tutorial level by a friendly blue JuJu spirit called Flora. All the usual platform tricks are there such as a double jump. But the most interesting thing about the way the game is played is how animals are used. In most platform games, animals placed in the level just harm the player. Here they are much more useful.

For example, orang-utans kindly bend down the trunks of palm trees. If the player walks Tak onto these bent bows, he is catapulted quite some distance to a higher point in the level. Rhinos can be ridden if one needs to punch through obstacles. Throw some fruit at a monkey and he will throw some at the nearest creature. This tends to result in another creature standing on an important switch, knocking out an annoying nerbil creature or moving some other obstacle for the player. These are just a few examples of the way animals help the player throughout the game.

The levels are organized around the village, which acts as a hub to the different game sections. These different levels, such as an island full of chickens or the spirit realms, have to be visited several times throughout the game but there are enough changes each time to avoid repetition,

Tasks vary but tend to involve a question to find a certain object, while also being on the lookout for the vorbels needed to return Lok to human form. Tak may have to gather magical plants, find a spirit rattle and even lead mummies from their tombs. But the main quest is to collect those 100 vorbels. The game has been made slightly easier for younger players in that there are actually 200 of these items in the game, negating the need to look in every nook and cranny.

Tak isn't alone in his quest as help and advice often comes from Flora. The cute elf lets Tak know when he needs to learn some new skill to progress but can occasionally state the obvious - but one has to remember this is a game aimed at younger players who may need such guidance along the way. And as much of the game is spent collecting feathers, following the trail of these items usually offers a good guide when Flora doesn't have anything to say.