Stone Protectors

Straight from the popular TV show and into your living room comes the--Stone Protectors! One of the great crystals has been stolen from the crystal palace by none other than the evil lord Zok. Now it is up to that magically transformed rock group (a.k.a. the Stone Protectors) to get the crystal back. This game plays very similar to classic action fighting games, such as the TMNT and Final Fight series, with tons of attacks and combos to learn. Fans of the series will recognize the story line. Join the fab team of five as they try to thwart Zok and Zink's plans to control the world!

THE GOOD

A wide variety of attacks, weapons, and special moves plus two-player action keep this game interesting.

THE BAD

Many times, if the enemy hits you, you'll take an additional three or four hits before you fall.

THE UGLY

Watching the enemy get shot point-blank in the face with your bazooka.

Stone Protectors brings a rock-n-roll spirit to cartoony beat-em-ups. The results will please novice fight fans, but veterans will move a stone's throw away.

Troll Call

Two slimy monsters attack Princess Opal with their reptilian army to get their claws on her powerful Great Crystal. Rushing to her rescue are the Stone Protectors, five rock-n-roll trolls who battle guards, lizardmen, and bruising bosses through ten levels of decent beat-em-up action.

Ample control options juice the action. Each character has their own arsenal of kicks, punches, jumps, and spins, supplemented by unique musical moves and special attacks. However, the enemies are repetitive, so you can keep your attacks basic and still win. This game's not a brain-strainer, especially if you team up with a pal or the CPU.

Romancing the Stone

The graphics and sounds are straight out of the Saturday- morning TV lineup. Colorful, imaginative, otherworldly backgrounds are populated by small but detailed sprites that move stiffly. Rockin' music provides a good backdrop, and you get lots of sound effects. A few roars or voices would've sent the sound rating soaring. Two big plusses are Stone Protectors' wide-ranging difficulty setting, which makes this game beatable for young players, and the level-select option, which enables you to see almost everything.

Stone Protectors isn't fabulous fun, but you could do a lot worse on a rainy afternoon.

The Stone Protectors are a band of rock-n-roll trolls. While this satirical bunch of goons brings some color to the screen, the game's graphical and game-play flaws prevent these trolls from passing on their musical magic to you.

Stone Cold

Princess Opal is doing her best to protect Mythrandir from Zok's evil. In trying to take over the Great Crystal, which is key to Mythrandir's control, Zok fumbled all but one chunk.

The other mystical fragments landed in Seattle and turned five musicians into the punky Stone Protectors, who are recruited into battle.

Stone Protectors is filled with great sound -- you get stereo sonics flying back and forth. The imagery is colorful, and the characters look goofy, but, unfortunately, less effort was put into the animation. Most actions are jerky, and some enemies simply disappear when they're defeated.

Rock Hard

Character control is simple if you stick to basic moves. However, special attacks can be hard to accomplish, which makes control-pad operation a real workout. Your on-screen character runs like he's stuck in molasses, so it's hard to counteract an enemy attack.

The game isn't devoid of fun. Stone Protectors offers various modes, from challenging single player to all-for-one cooperative mode to a head- to-head tournament fighter. Overall, though, it's a frustrating journey. The Stone Protectors are unplugged.