Playing Disney TH!NK Fast is a bit like going to one of their movies; it’s probably not something you would elect to do on your own, but you’ll tag along for the sake of the kids - and just like one of their movies, the game follows a tried and true formula, with a couple of tweaks to set it apart from the rest of the herd.Featuring content from Disney’s animated movies both past and present, the kid-friendly quiz game parallels its ‘grown up’ counterpart in terms of general format and gameplay: there’s an over-the-top game show host in the form of Genie from Aladdin, flashy sets with Disney themes, up to four contestants eager to battle it out over rounds of buzzer-busting action, and of course tacky prizes and bragging rights for the overall winner.
Prior to play you select the game’s duration, however at five rounds the shortest option runs for approximately thirty minutes, while the longest drags on for about an hour. We found this to be too drawn out; imagine how it would feel for kiddies with their notoriously brief attention spans!
Some flexibility is provided with the custom game menu. You choose the rounds you want and the duration, but again you are limited to five, seven or nine rounds. We would have liked to have had an option for a shorter game – say three rounds max.
The usual pre-quiz routine follows, with selection of characters (all classic Disney favourites such as Micky and Minnie, Donald and Goofy), amusing buzzer sounds and difficulty level. The game caters to those with limited knowledge of Disney animated movies, which is a nice touch. It’s no fun trying to answer questions on an unfamiliar topic. Also worth mentioning are the four themed locations you can select as the backdrop to your game. Each is based on a well known movie such as The Lion King or Lilo and Stitch, and each features a ‘special guest’ character from the film. Small details perhaps, but they help distinguish Disney TH!NK Fast from the rest.The rounds themselves offer a good deal of variety for young minds. The (extremely simple) questions largely revolve around general knowledge and Disney animated movie trivia, with true/false statements, observation-based questions and clue-based picture recognition thrown into the mix. There are even a few mini-game rounds to offer a little more variety and boost point scoring potential for players at the younger end of the scale.
The single player game has a lot more to offer than previous quiz games, the aim being to amass time and points over six rounds, before the final ‘beat the clock’ round. There are also several unlockable characters available only in single player; an incentive to try your best and score well. The developers obviously wanted Disney TH!NK Fast to be as much fun to play alone as it is with a bunch of friends, which it certainly is.
Being pitched at a younger audience, Genie’s in-game patter is more of a good natured slapstick style than the witty-but-derisory digs of that other game show host, Buzz, and the Robin Williams sound-alike does a remarkable job of his voice. As you might expect from a Disney title, graphics are stylishly executed, flashy and in glorious cartoon colour, with some genuinely entertaining animations from the contestants. No complaints here.
While Disney TH!NK Fast does not have an awful lot to offer adult players, you can rest assured the kids – especially younger ones - will have a good deal of fun with it… plus it provides another opportunity to dust off (and disentangle) those buzzers.
Source: GamePlanet NZ