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Video Game Review: Death Jr.: Root of Evil

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DOUG BUEL

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 1, 2008

System: Nintendo Wii

Publisher: Eidos

Reviewer's rating: *½

ESRB rating: Teen

Game type: Third-person adventure/platform

Kind of like: "Banjo-Kazooie," but on a linear path

Best feature: The goth decor is kinda cool.

Worst feature: The game is rather repetitive, and playing with the other character doesn't help.

The bottom line: "Death Jr." was originally a PSP title, and it wasn't really one of the better ones. That hasn't changed with the transition to the Wii.

The Wii sequel does allow two players to play at the same time, which helps redeem the game somewhat.

In "Death Jr.: Root of Evil," you control the son of the Grim Reaper, DJ. He's said to be a teenager, but he sounds more like a grade-schooler. Alternately, you can control his friend Pandora. Whichever character you play has to travel through 3-D platform worlds to rescue the Reaper, who has been trapped by the villain Furi. Furi makes spiky vines grow wherever she appears, giving us the "Root of Evil" name.

The game setting has a lot of what you might call Halloween decor, with a bit of Tim Burton or Charles Addams thrown in. DJ uses a scythe to slash his way past enemies, while Pandora starts the game with a chain, and attacking consists of a lot of button-mashing and Wiimote-waving. Weapons can be upgraded, and this is one of the more tedious parts of the game, because to upgrade them you have to collect glowing orbs from the levels. It's really a chore.

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