It’s the Big Game, Charlie Brown!

Details: Category: Computer; By ccgr; 18.Sep; Hits: 8434

System Requirements Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, MAC OS 9, OS X (10.1.2+) 450MHz CPU or better 128MB RAM CD-ROM 60MB HDD space 32-bit graphics 16-bit sound ESRB rated E for everyone

Story

Charlie Brown is the general manager of a baseball league starting tomorrow. The problem is that he needs more teammates than himself and his loyal (but hungry) dog Snoopy. Help Charlie Brown recruit his friends Lucy, Schroeder, Linus, Peppermint Patty, and Pigpen. Sally, Marcy and Violet can follow you (one at a time) and can help convince your friends to join your team. Each potential team member will need your help in a task/mini-game before they agree to join your team.

What kinds of mini-games are there?

This is an adventure style game. As you explore Charlie Brown\'s neighborhood, you\'ll encounter people to talk to and objects to manipulate. Some friends will follow you and they will usually serve a purpose in convincing someone to join your team, provided you pass the mini-games. To gain a new member on your team you will have to complete two mini games. One game helps you win over the character, and another teaches you how to play baseball. Some of the mini games include: * Fixing an alarm clock by arranging the cogs so they spin together * Playing back the musical notes Schroeder plays * Using Linus’s blanket to save objects Snoopy throws out of the window, * Arranging falling sports equipment so they land in the right bins * Answering Lucy’s quiz on how knowledgeable you are of your teammates. Each mini game has three difficulty levels to choose from. The baseball mini games are helpful to win in the Big Game. You will learn how to bat, pitch, catch, and run/steal bases. You can adjust the difficulty level in the baseball game.

Playing Baseball

You can play baseball at any time, even before you have all of your teammates in place. When you start a ball game you can either play six or nine innings. You can choose the difficulty level and lastly your starting line-up. After each inning will play a humorous cut-scene, though they often get repeated. You get to control with your mouse when to hit, what type of pitch to throw and how fast to throw it, finally, you can direct the outfield on where to catch the incoming balls. Graphics The graphics are cartoony as you would expect. The characters look just like their hand-drawn equivalents. The animation and graphics are colorful and true to Peanuts style. It’s easy to identify what objects you can manipulate in this game.

Sound

I will admit that it’s been a while since I have seen a Peanuts cartoon/movie so I can’t say how similar the voice acting is. I liked all the voices except Charlie Brown’s. I think he sounded sadder than normal, but then again, I may be wrong. The background music was a nice touch but not very memorable.

Stability

I had no problems running this game.

Controls

Like many adventure style games, this game is mouse driven and pretty easy to maneuver and play.

Appropriateness

This game is pretty clean but accurately portrays how cruel kids can be to each other. Charlie Brown has a flashback of Lucy pulling the football just as he is about to kick it, even though she promised that she wouldn’t.

Final Thoughts

Any Peanuts or baseball fan will enjoy this game. After you beat the game, or if you don’t feel like playing the adventure part of it, you can just play a baseball game. Charlie Brown’s team has never won a game before and if you win, you get an especially happy ending. The harder difficulties offer replay ability too.