Game Info
GAME NAME: Paparazzi
DEVELOPER(S): Pringo Dingo Games
PUBLISHER(S): Pringo Dingo Games
PLATFORM(S): Nintendo Wii U
GENRE(S): Party
RELEASE DATE(S): February 17th, 2015
The unfortunate way my brain works is that once I hear a title or word I automatically associate it with something else with either the same theme or name. When I saw Paparazzi from Pringo Dingo Games come across my email, all I could think of was the terrible Lady Gaga song or the not as terrible but still awful 2004 movie with the same name starring Cole Hauser. Now it seems that the word can be synonymous with three horrible things.
The scope and concept of the game is fine by me. The point is either you play as the paparazzi photographer and try to take pictures of the celebrity in order to gain money. On the reverse side, when playing as the celebrity you are trying everything in your power to remain hidden to keep up your dignity. The developer has fun with the celebrities you can choose to play from ranging anywhere from a country star to a soccer player to even a bear on a trike. Yes you just read that right, a bear on a trike. This is all the game is made up of and you can enjoy the seesaw battle between dignity and money in short spurts until the celebrity reaches the limo end goal.
The gameplay of Paparazzi is split amongst the GamePad player and the Wii Remote player. There is a single player mode where you can use the GamePad to play as the celebrity and run from a computer controlled paparazzi but this feels like more of a throwaway training mode and not a full fleshed experience. While playing with the GamePad you can run your celebrity with the left analog and do a quick “jet” move with the A button. This is the extent of the controls and would be fine but the game feels flighty and you never feel like you have direct control of your character. It almost feels like you have to make wide turns in order to get your sprite where you want it to be. Another annoyance is the ridiculous amount of stuff going on in each level. It makes it easier to hide from player two but in the end also makes you lose track of your character. There are power-ups as well as crowds of fans to help you navigate out of site from the photographer. Player 2 uses the Wii Remote to aim and snap photos with A and that is all.
The game goes for the simplistic look of an NES or Atari title but with an extreme amount of bright colors. The colorful cast of characters helps make the game more playful and the backgrounds are all different and as interesting as the next. The music has a swing and jazz feel and contrasts from the pixel art style. I would have been expecting more of a chiptune soundtrack which you do get with the sound effects but not with the level themes.
The Recommendation
Paparazzi could have been a fun party game as maybe a hide and seek title similar to the one in Game & Wario, but as a two player game the fun is quickly diminished. The controls feel flighty and after a few sessions you are ready to hang it up. I’m not sure if there would be a patch to fix the controls or maybe add a few more modes, but this would be hard for me to recommend, especially at $4.99
