I figured after posting my Pokemon Diamond/Pearl review, all my credibility had gone out of the window with everyone on Block17; but just in case it hasn’t, here is a requested review of ‘Go Diego Go - Safari Rescue’ for the Nintendo DS.

‘Go Diego Go - Safari Rescue’ has you play as Diego, the lead character from the TV series “Go Diego Go”. During Safari Rescue, you will travel around Africa, taking pictures of the animals you see and completing minigames to progress. This is a winning formula with kids; it’s simple, fun, and varied. It’s actually done very well in GDG.

The minigames are very simple, but use just about every feature the DS has; you can use the microphone to blow up balloons, use the touch screen to drag obstacles out of the way, or to help Diego jump over certain things. Similarly, you use the touch screen to move the camera around when you are trying to take pictures of animals. I’m embarrassed to say I quite liked it, the minigames had a certain charm to them that helped me ignore the fact that I was playing the same ones over and over again. While I know very little about the “Go Diego Go” TV programme, I know it’s one of the “pantomime” shows: the characters ask the audience questions, and the audience answers. This is also a feature in GDG, and Diego will occasionally ask you to shout words into the microphone. Even though it’s not aimed at me, I still found it mildly entertaining.

Graphically, the game is very low budget. There aren’t many animations in the minigames, and the cutscenes are made up of still images. On the plus side, everything looks like it does in the programme; which is what it is supposed to look like, so kids will be able to pick out their favourite characters easily.

The sound is quite good and very clear, theres a fair bit of voice acting; although, like the minigames, its the same tracks over and over. Annoyingly, every single voice in the game is done by the same voice actor, so everyone sounds the same, and this might even confuse kids who watch the show. The main issue I had with the sound is that Diego never shuts up. Ever. At the start of every minigame, he’ll tell you what to do and how to do it, and this would but fine, if he hadn’t said exactly the same thing 5 seconds ago when I last played the minigame.

All that said, there is one issue with the game: it’s only 20 minutes long. No, really. I played through the entire story in 20 minutes, and there is nothing to unlock at the end. I wasn’t expecting a massive game that would take me days to complete, but even for a kids game 20 minutes is insulting; especially considering the RRP for this game is £29:99.

Story: 2/10 I didn’t understand it, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt since I have never seen the programme. It’s still criminally short.
Multiplayer: -

Gameplay: 7/10 - Fun and simple, but not enough variation. I think kid’s will really like this.
Graphics: 5/10 - I’ve seen better on the DS, but it’s got the character art down.
Sound: 6/10 - It’s the same thing over and over, stay out of the room if you’re kid plays this, because it will drive you insane.
Design: 7/10 - It’s designed for kids, and I think kids will like it.
Overall: 5.4/10 - It will keep you’re kids entertained, though not necessarily quiet, for as long as it takes them to complete the game; but that’s not long. Definately not worth the £29:99 RRP. Buy something else.