Sunday, October 20, 2013

Silver Dollars: Ducktales Anniversary, Part 6

I just recently learned a brand new Ducktales video game was released right under our noses! And I'm not talking about Ducktales Remastered; I'm talking about Scrooge's Loot, the new FREE downloadable app that you can play on your smartphone or tablet.

There are cut scenes featuring original cast members Alan Young as Scrooge McDuck and Terry McGovern as Launchpad Mcquack, but it appears the gameplay involves four new characters created exclusively for the game...and I have no idea what their names are. I would like to know, because that implies a lot of things going on behind-the-scenes (it is the only Disney Afternoon show on DVD that's still kept in stock in retail stores - could it be that Disney will produce new episodes the way Warner Brothers cranks out new Scooby Doo cartoons?...). The last time new Disney characters crept onscreen without introduction was in the title sequence for The Disney Afternoon (Darkwing Duck, Gosalyn Mallard, Bonkers D. Bobcat) and we only learned who they were when their respective TV shows premiered.

Anyway, the new characters are a young boy duckling, dressed as a Junior Woodchuck and wearing spats; a tall, burly duck dressed as a chef; a nerdy duck that resembles Professor Frink from The Simpsons in duck feathers; and a female duck dressed as a flying ace. WHO they are in relation to the Ducktales cast of characters is not clear, though the team behind the game hints that they are aware of the show's continuity (a brief scene at the beginning establishes that Huey, Dewey and Louie are away visiting Donald). Only the design for the duck scientist looks original,  while the other ducks appear to "pick n' mix" types with features culled from incidental characters seen on the show.

I can't find any press releases online that would shed more light on what this is all about, but at a glance, it's a nice looking game. Samples of the gameplay I've seen on YouTube reminds me of Super Mario Sunshine, with all the gadgets that have to be used. To my knowledge, this is the first official platformer/shooter/adventure game offered by Disney for the current wave of mobile devices (I do remember a crude-looking Kingdom Hearts game offered years back, but that was a "card battle" game, not what we got here); all the games released in the last two years or so have been puzzle games - usually with recent Disney fare like Phineas and Ferb or the new Mickey Mouse short cartoons. This is a big deal! If you're a Ducktales fan, I recommend that you check it out - It's FREE! :)

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