Can you imagine
sitting down at a design meeting and being told that your designing a game around a thumb?
There's a sure way to know your career is going places. Anyway, Tech Deck
Skateboarding is based off a stupid toy line that has kids around the nation skating
on skateboards with their fingers. Not real sure of the appeal there, but they must be
popular enough if they get their own video game.
Taking control of a thumb with a face, you'll skateboard around same-looking stages, collecting different decks along the same lines as Pokemon. You're given a time limit to collect them all in a given stage. Failing means you...well, it's not known what happens, but I would imagine that you don't get to keep the boards you collected. I doubt the thumb actually dies. Besides, he's probably already dead. Who knows how long he's been separated from a body?
Useless tricks can be performed around the stage, but they serve no purpose. You gain points for them, yet they can't be used for anything rendering the entire trick system useless. Collecting the boards requires players to jump up and reach them, however the slightly angled view makes it difficult (if not impossible) to judge exactly where they are. The designers were even kind enough to include a 16-character password system instead of a battery for saving any progress you've made. That shows how much they care
There is little reason as to why this is a Game Boy Color title only. The entire
graphical package is uninspired and well, lacking color. There is a lot of red. Lots and
lots of red. The animation of our thumb buddy is decent, the best you'll ever seen a thumb
animated as a matter of fact. Same can't be said for the abysmal music and sound effects
though. The announcer does his job by announcing what you're supposed to do each stage,
which is, oddly enough, always the same.
I've decided that if I ever learn how to make a video game, I'm making one about a middle finger. THERE is an untapped genre. Not sure exactly what you would do with that finger, but I'm sure I'll think of something by the time I actually figure out what I'm doing. Anyway, this is an abomination of game design, on par with those cheap 50+ all original game carts made for the various consoles in Hong Kong. Flipping through the instruction book reveals that over 30 people worked on this game. Not sure if either the entire department beat on one guy until he finished this or they were all five years old. It's a tough call and could go either way.
