Patreon button  Steam curated reviews  Discord button  Facebook button  Twitter button 
3DS | PC | PS4 | PS5 | SWITCH | VITA | XB1 | XSX | All

The Animals! (Sega CD) artwork

The Animals! (Sega CD) review


"For some odd reason, I have this game in my possession. And for an even odder reason, I actually paid forty bucks for this game. I mean, forty bucks! Well, was it forty bucks well spent? To put it mildly, no, it wasn't. Animals is just an interactive encyclopedia that focuses entirely on the animal kingdom. And for some odd reason, this "game" was released for the Sega CD. Well, at least I know that one copy of this game was sold. "

For some odd reason, I have this game in my possession. And for an even odder reason, I actually paid forty bucks for this game. I mean, forty bucks! Well, was it forty bucks well spent? To put it mildly, no, it wasn't. Animals is just an interactive encyclopedia that focuses entirely on the animal kingdom. And for some odd reason, this "game" was released for the Sega CD. Well, at least I know that one copy of this game was sold.

Graphics
Most of the graphics in the game are just pictures and video clips of various animals doing various things, such as eating, sleeping, and yes, sometimes even breeding. Unfortunately, all of these pictures and videos are in very low-res. The videos are especially bad, with an excruciatingly slow and choppy frame rate.

Other than this, the only other graphics are the small icons and the little man that acts as your on-screen cursor. All of these things are just average. There are small icons of a globe, a set of books, a dog, some arrows, and a map. The little man that acts as your cursor wears a bright orange jumpsuit, has a white face, and has an antenna coming out from the top of his head. Yeah, that sure seems average to me, not to mention a little creepy.

The pictures and the videos, which are supposed to be the game's eye candy, are very ugly by today's standards. And the remaining portion of the visuals is very average. Man, and I really wanted to see a baboon's red behind in detail.
Rating: 3/10

Sound
The Animals's sound is okay, even if they are very generic. There is the audio of the aforementioned video clips, which is a little choppy, but not too bad. You can still make out the animals growls and love grunts. Then there is the sole sound effect in the game. It's the sound of the click you hear every time you press a button. The click is just a normal click; there's nothing too special about it. And lastly, there are the hundred or so sound clips of various animals. From aardvarks to zebras, there is a sound from almost every animal imaginable. This is by far the best part of this game's audio, and maybe even the game. But what does that say about the rest of the game?
Rating: 6/10

Gameplay
(Yawn) Man, is this game boring. You might as well be reading an encyclopedia in your local library. All you really do is browse through menus with your man-cursor, click on this and that, maybe watch a movie of some lions eating, then listen to the roar of a grizzly bear, read some articles, and look at some pictures. That is the game's entire concept. Oh, and I almost forgot. If you play the CD in a CD player, there is a bonus track of, surprise, static. Unfortunately, it only lasts for six seconds. But go ahead, try it out. You might have some fun.
Rating: 2/10

Replay Value
Well, I must admit. It would take an eternity for a person to actually read all of the articles, listen to all of the sounds, watch all of the movies, and look at all of the pictures. But then again, would anyone actually want to? If there is someone out there reading this that would actually want to, then more power to you. But to the rest of us, just take a nap. You'll get the same result.
Rating: 3/10

Overall
Animals is the mother lode of all encyclopedia games. This game has TONS of information of almost every animal on the face of the planet. This could be a pretty informative and fun research source. But as a video game, this game is dull, ugly, and boring. But hey, at least there's a pretty picture of a cheetah on the cover.

Overall Rating: 3/10



cdbavg400's avatar
Community review by cdbavg400 (November 13, 2004)

A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.

More Reviews by cdbavg400 [+]
3D Pinball: Space Cadet (PC) artwork
3D Pinball: Space Cadet (PC)

3D Pinball: Space Cadet is really just your typical pinball game. The main difference with this game is that it comes free with any Windows 98 or higher operating system. But with that fact, it also means that there are a few flaws with the game. Things that are free are rarely any good. Rarely.
Critical Depth (PlayStation) artwork
Critical Depth (PlayStation)

Critical Depth is a very enjoyable action game. It takes vehicular combat to a whole new level, literally. Many people may just find this as another Twisted Metal wannabe, but it’s is different is so many ways. There is a better storyline in Critical Depth, and well, its underwater. Maneuvering...
Jupiter Strike (PlayStation) artwork
Jupiter Strike (PlayStation)

Oh man. It’s Jupiter Strike. I knew I would have to face this day sooner or later. It’s now time to write this review. In Jupiter Strike, you fly a spacecraft through outer space while dodging enemy fire and taking down some ships of your own. The game seems typical, right? WRONG! This game ...

Feedback

If you enjoyed this The Animals! review, you're encouraged to discuss it with the author and with other members of the site's community. If you don't already have an HonestGamers account, you can sign up for one in a snap. Thank you for reading!

You must be signed into an HonestGamers user account to leave feedback on this review.

User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links

eXTReMe Tracker
© 1998 - 2024 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. The Animals! is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to The Animals!, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors. Staff and freelance reviews are typically written based on time spent with a retail review copy or review key for the game that is provided by its publisher.