Whiplash screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 7.0 Graphics 7.0 Sound 8.5 Value 7.2 Whiplash -  reviewed by Andrew B  Review Date: March 2004 Review Score 7.2/10  Distributed By: Atari Australia

"It's clobbering time!!!" Whiplash is the latest game from Crystal Dynamics that not only makes fun of animal testing but also ensures that the game isn't taken too seriously. The two bumbling fools of the game... err... heroes are a pair of animals that include Spanx the weasel and Redmond the rabbit. The story revolves around Spanx who is trying to escape from an insidious scientific stronghold called the Genron Corporation. Although the face of an innocent corporation, Genron is in actual fact responsible for a variety of heinous acts against animals that include genetic engineering and animal cruelty. Spanx isn't your average killer weasel but in actual fact is far from it and although his only wish is to escape from the Genron Corporation, he also wishes to take down the entire organisation from the inside, ensuring that they will never harm any animal again. There is however one catch, Spanx is chained to Redmond because they were about to be genetically joined together to form a deadly creature called the Weabit but fortunately for these two fast friends, they still have a chance of life. Okay... the storyline may not be your serious "Metal Gear Solid" plot and you've probably gathered by now that this is a parody against a variety of things but one of the main things that Whiplash has going for it, is the extreme humour. In its essence, Whiplash is a traditional arcade game where you must perform a variety of mini-missions, find powerups, defeat enemies and of course jumping, running and having fun at the same time. The beauty of the game is that you must use both animals together to accomplish a variety of objectives. For instance, Redmond is the brains of the duo and you can basically use this animal as a grappling hook or even set him on fire, whereas Spanx is the brawn of the duo who basically goes nuts when he is pushed to the limits. The first few levels of Whiplash are quite entertaining as you  learn your way through this strange universe because one of your first goals is to destroy everything in sight and just about the entire environment is destroyable.  Your characters are also awarded Hypersnax points that help your characters powerup through the gaming environment. The control system of Whiplash is a treat on the PlayStation 2 and basically uses just about every button on the DualShock controller, not that this is a bad thing. You basically use the left analog to stick to control Spanx in the gaming world with the right analog stick used to control the camera angles. Triangle is used as an action button, Square is used to whip, grapple or zip line (Redmond) with the circle button used to perform overhead smashes and sweeps and the X button is used to jump or glide.

Spanx can also perform other manoeuvres such as ducks, scurries and even double jumps. The battle system of whiplash is quite entertaining when you see the two characters engage the dreaded humans of the Genron corporation, there is much humour and comedy to be found in these entertaining battles.

Graphically Whiplash is a mixed bag that looks extremely cartoonish but unfortunately a little too dated when compared to modern games of today such as Ratchet & Clank 2 or Sly Raccoon. The characters themselves contain a fairly low polygon count with some flat textures but fortunately they move with quite smooth and realistically in the gaming environment.

The musical score of Whiplash helps immerse the gamer into this action-packed arcade game but the most impressive thing about the game is the brilliant voice acting of the title. Each voice has been professional performed and suits every character in the game perfectly, whether it's the annoying anecdotes of Redmond or the evil ringmaster of the Genron Corporation, it comes together perfectly. The game also contains a variety of sound effects that go hand-in-hand with the graphics of this title.

Whiplash is a strange game that is unfortunately a hit and miss arcade game because of the dated graphics of the gaming engine and the strange humour that is littered throughout this title. Impressive things such as the manoeuvres that Spanx can perform or the little things like just about everything in the game can be destroyed are the small touches that help inject  some originality into this arcade game. If you're sick of all the first person shooters and sport games on the market at the moment and want a different arcade game than this may be the game for you.

- Andrew B