Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E.

Play as all five Kids Next Door operatives!

NA release: 11th October 2005
EU release: 2nd December 2005
JP release: N/A
Developer: High Voltage Software
Publisher: Global Star Software
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

This is a Cartoon Network show that I’ve never heard of before (although my partner was a fan of the show when she was younger). It’s about a group of child secrets agents that operate from a high tech treehouse, and only ever refer to each other by their number designation.

The developers seemed to care somewhat about the franchise, as they’ve created a unique story where all their previous villains escape and you play as each main character to capture them all again. The style captures the show well and all the voice actors return.

There are two main gameplay styles, in some levels you shoot everything while in others you have to beat everything up. Alternating between those helps to keep things fresh, but the game has a much, much bigger problem: the movement.

It’s just so unbelievably slow, like the game is running in slow motion. Instead of playing as agile secret agents, you’re just running through treacle the entire time. Jumping and platforming also feels just as broken. It’s so bad that I had to look up footage of the game on actual consoles to make sure and, sure enough, it’s exactly the same. It turns what would be a decent kids tie-in and turns it into something that, quite frankly, is almost unplayable.

Poor

Operation V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. is a limited action platformer with an unhealthy amount of problems only devout KND fans will be able to appreciate.
Ivan Sulic, IGN

Remake or remaster?

Perhaps in a Cartoon Network collection.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to buy Codename: Kids Next Door – Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E.