Joe Danger Review

Get ready to hop on the  track and flip your way to the finish line in Joe Danger, the much anticipated PSN exclusive brought to you by Hello Games. In Joe Danger, the aptly named star is a former stuntman of legendary status. Sadly, old Joe has seemingly hit a slump, which sparks a heroic return to the track to reclaim his name in the racing scene.

Taking a rather simplistic gameplay approach, the most dangerous aspect of Joe is how addicting his trials can be. Players ride a motorcycle through countless levels attempting to collect stars, hit targets, and race their way to the finish line. The objectives of each level may remind many gamers of the classic Tony Hawk series, even down to collecting the word DANGER. While not every task needs to be completed, doing so will earn you stars, which can be used to advance onto farther areas of the game. The simplistic gameplay, which revolves around hopping and performing stunts in the air, is so entertaining, you will forgive the game for not offering any sorts of deep combinations or stunt tricks. In fact, in keeping it simple, Joe Danger becomes the most addicting and accessible PSN title to date.

The deepest aspect of Joe Danger’s gameplay may be the ability to shift gates at certain times on certain tracks. Using the word “deep” would be a stretch however. That said, switching gates does add a certain degree of strategy to the game. Don’t think that just because the game is simple to play, it’s simple to complete. The endless array of challenges are progressively more difficult. Luckily, the game never puts you in a situation where you will find yourself frustrated thanks to the absurd quantity of courses within.

Almost any gamer can find something to love about Joe Danger. The bright graphics are rather simple, but delightfully pleasing, making for a wonderfully happy feel that could best be described as a Saturday morning cartoon. Joe himself is a rather loveable character who is both adorable to play as, and fun to watch in action. The sounds of the game of course, are also fitting in nature, bringing the entire package to life as if it were a living animated toon. As addicting as the gameplay can be, the graphics and sound are just as much a compliment, and never cease to get boring.

Joe Danger could have been a single player experience, but the developers opted to add split screen multiplayer into the equation. Sadly though, the framerate suffers when getting two average Joe’s together. racing against a friend is still rather fun, and a welcome addition to an already fantastic package, but this issue deserves mentioning nonetheless. Most will find that passing the controller in the single player mode can be even more fun than actually playing against one another in split screen action.

The fun doesn’t stop there. The developers have also included a nice course creator, which seems to be appearing in more games as of late. The tools given within are about what you would expect. Easy enough to use, and enjoyable to create. For any one who is devoted to making tracks, you will be pleased to have it as an included feature, though it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before in a game. As if Joe Danger needed more reasons to keep playing, you can chalk up the course creator as yet another one.

At the end of the day Joe Danger is a fantastic PSN exclusive that excites gamers, and hopefully developers as well. With plenty of challenges, whimsical graphics, and entertaining gameplay, Joe Danger does almost everything you could ask a downloadable title to do. It allows you to have a good time, even with the not so hardcore crowd. Joe Danger is truly fun for the entire family.

Posted by Henry Macreadie on Jul 12 2010. Filed under Playstation 3, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry