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Good: Tim Burton atmosphere

Bad: Backtracking, repetitive play

You've played too much when: You can sing the words to every song

This game is pure Tim Burton. Oogie's Revenge does an excellent job of continuing The Nightmare Before Christmas movie. The movie did alright domestically, but it was a smash in Japan, and this game originally came out in Japan last year. It wasn't until Tim Burton's Corpse Bride came out in theaters that the game was even considered for a US release.

Thankfully it's stateside now. This is honestly the first game that I've played that does a good job of incorporating any kind of holiday as a major role. The plot isn't Shakespeare. You, Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, have got to stop Oogie Boogie, who was brought back to life by three little brats from town: Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

The game controls well. You start out with a soul grabber, which is reminiscent of the snot whip in the Earthworm Jim games. You can use it to access out of reach levels, to whip enemies or to grab them and swing them about, smashing them into other enemies. I definitely had some fun with the soul grabber. You also earn the ability to play as the Pumpkin King, who breathes fire, and Santa Jack, who can scare possessed items into their original state. The camera in the game does take some getting used to. You have no control whatsoever on the camera, and I can't remember the last game I played like that, but within fifteen minutes it wasn't noticeable.

The game is divided into 24 chapters, some of which are genuinely original. One has you retrieving five hanging men who have left their tree. Another challenges you to swap a doctor's bad brain for a replacement while lasers and spinning blades try to stop you. Unfortunately not all of the chapters are as innovative and many require backtracking which gets a little bit boring.

At the end of each chapter you are given a Nightmare Rank which is based upon the number of combos you completed, how long the level took you, how much damage you took, and the number of exclamation points you earned. If you receive a grade of A on all of these areas, you earn a statue that is placed in Jack's house. You can replay chapters to earn the statues and there are secret areas throughout the game that allow you to earn more.

There is an index of characters for the game, which is great. This definitely helps newcomers get up to speed on Burton's universe while not interrupting the flow of the game.

The music in Oogie's Revenge is excellent. Danny Elfman hasn't rocked this hard since his days in Oingo Boingo. There are ten songs in the game though, which means that unless you're going to beat it in less than an hour, you're going to hear some songs over and over. The theme song is heard every time ghosts, skeletons, trolls, or any other enemy is about to pop out of the ground. This is a great audio cue to prepare you for battle, but there are only so many times that you can hear "This is Halloween, this is Halloween," before you start getting a little nutty.

The graphics are pretty good, especially for a game that is over a year old. They are very consistent with the style of the movie. In fact, the entire game's presentation is extremely consistent from start to finish. I can't think of anything visually that I can nitpick about the game.

I love Halloween as much as any other holiday, and I could definitely see myself picking this back up next fall to get in the Halloween and Christmas spirit. If you're a fan of Tim Burton's work, then you won't be disappointed by this solid effort.

Graphics: B

Sound: A

First Play: B

Last Play: C+

Gameplay: B-

Overall: 80% B-