Billy Blade & The Temple Of Time

When you think about exploring and looking for treasures you may think about Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Nathan Drake in Uncharted, or even Indiana Jones in, well, Indiana Jones. But stories like these are everywhere, so it's hard to keep track of them all. Billy Blade & The Temple of Time is one of those stories.

These adventures are loved by many thanks to the amazing places they take us, exploring and fighting the bad guys, and being on the edge of death. We are going to be talking about Billy Blade & The Temple of Time, one of these adventures that flew under the radar at release.

About the game

Billy's wild nature and ability to go constantly shirtless made him perfect for his companion, a monkey called Kong. Together they embark on an adventure to the mythical Temple of Time, home of the Crystal of Ages. This magic Crystal grants the holder the power to create portals and control the amazing power of time.

As usual in these adventures, something goes terribly wrong. A strange accident and mystic accident ends up throwing Kong into one of those time portals. Billy, as fearless as ever, jumps in to save his friend without giving it much thought. This will take him on an adventure through the Ice Age, the Caribbean Beach, and the sandy ancient Persia. Billy has to fight off the bad guys while trying to find out just where and when is his friend.

Too similar?

We already know that Billy Blade is adventurous, has a sword, travels through many places looking for treasure and adventure. This sounds pretty similar to Prince of Persia, and the game even feels similar to that.

Billy Blade and the Temple of Time borrows a lot from his older cousin Prince of Persia. Especially when you compare it with The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, another game with a pretty similar style, and even the same time traveling theme. Still, In Billy Blade, they travel much farther in time. Also, Billy Blade is clearly intended for younger audiences, different from Prince of Persia's.

Review

Billy Blade and The Temple of Time is a nice, comfy adventure game for all ages. Surely it is more intended for a younger audience, but even with that, it tells a nice story. The cartoon adventure is full of humorous situations and exotic settings. Nice enemies and a simple yet fun story follow you through your adventure.

Keep in mind that this is a pretty short title, it's not something that will last days. But it's still fun to play and finish in one seat the whole adventure. An overall nice introduction for the younger generations into the Prince of Persia-like game world.

• Graphics and visuals: this title delivers a very cartoony experience full of colorful settings. The huge buildings, the desert sands, and the colorful beach contrast strongly with the frosted ice age. With basic animations, it's still looking nice. It's not glorious, technically, but it looks cartoony enough to be ok.

• Gameplay: Solid gameplay similar to that of the [Prince of Persia]/games/prince-of-persia-game/) titles, the exploration is pretty linear and straightforward. You won't go around getting lost in this title as it's simple enough to be fun for the kids, without giving them headaches. Don't expect complicated puzzles or violent fights here.

• Sound: Expect little from either the soundtrack or sound effects in this title. It fills up the background but it won't be anything worth remembering. It does a nice job of building the whole atmosphere, but it's not great.

The Press release that comes with Billy Blade And The Temple Of Time proudly proclaims that the game features tons of moves: run, jump, roll and fight". Our experience with games has led us to believe that this should be standard issue - but not wanting to pre-judge, we booted the game up and gave it a try. Graphically, things aren't too shabby; the cartoon-style graphics and Disney-esque animated cut-scenes won't win any prizes, but they lend themselves well to the overall feel of the game. Sadly, this is where the good parts end. Gameplay is plagued by dodgy camera angles, almost non-existent enemy Al, infuriating platform sections and clumsy combat.

If its sword-wielding acrobatics you're after, the infinitely superior Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time can be found for the same amount or less. Failing that, if you still want to run, jump, roll and fight, why not spend your $20 in the pub, then pick a fight with the bouncers?