Every now and again there comes along a game that transcends it's genre to stand head and shoulders above it's peer group - a shining example of gaming goodness that the industry spends many years trying to equal.
And then there's Jumper!
This is quite frankly one of the best games ever to grace my Xbox and provided me with 5 hours of pure gaming pleasure!
The first playthrough was probably one of the funniest experiences of my gaming life. From the opening cartoon/anime cut scene, the oscar-winning voice-overs, the outstanding Playstation 1 graphics, it is pant-wettingly funny. One-liners galore (usually when no-one is around to hear them) come thick and fast - direct from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Book Of Pre & Post Destruction Quips. I'm sure Griffin says "ain't got time to bleed" at one point (Predator?!!!)
Even funnier though is that there is a decent game lurking amongst all the turds. The combat is surprisingly innovative, and makes the whole mess quite playable if you prepared to commit time to understand it.
So, 4 hours to complete the game first time around. The next playthrough to finish off the achievements. Even more fun to be had as you should have the best weapon in the game which reduces the majority of combat to one-hit-kills. Total playtime - 1 hour. 1 hour to complete the whole game. Hilarious!!!
I put the game in my Xbox at 5pm. By 10.15pm I had 1,000 lovely achievement points and huge grin on my face. I was even tempted to play through again, just for fun.
I've not seen the movie so I can't comment on the accuracy of the plot or character development, but I am tempted having play the game just to find what the hell was going on! Did they use a ZX Spectrum to do the effects in the film too?
Gaming brilliance does not come around very often and you have to experience the bad to truly appreciate the good. Brush aside your gaming snobbery and stick Jumper in your white (or black) box and enjoy it for what it is - a true gaming turkey!!