Disney's Aladdin: Abu in Agrabah

The Context: Aladdin tells the story of a young street urchin who falls in love with a cute (and totally available) princess. Unfortunately, to win her hand he must race through streets, caves and castles to defeat the evil Jafar. At least, I think that's what happens in Aladdin. It's been a long time since I sat down and watched the 1992 original. I remember Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried as an annoying parrot. I think there was something about three wishes ... or maybe that was the Duck Tales Movie. Either way, this game reduces the movie to a series of shallow (albeit fun) action sequences connected by short cinemas. In other words, it's a Run Through the Streets simulator.

The Rules: For the game's two bonus levels, our hero is given some much needed time to recuperate. While Aladdin rests, his kleptomaniac pet monkey, Abu, has a chance to prove his mettle. The object is simple enough, move Abu around to avoid any and all obstacles thrown his way. At first it's just a series of falling clay pots, but before long he's jumping over barrels and defeating armed guards. Successfully avoid these obstacles and Abu will be greeted with big (and very useless) points.

The Verdict: This is a simple mini-game, but it's an effective way to introduce more popular characters into the product. Like the rest of the game, the animation is superb and there's nothing about the game that interrupts the pacing. My only complaint is that I wish the developers could have come up with a few more obstacle types. It's not that I dislike jumping over barrels and avoiding falling pots, but they all tend to look the same after a while. Still, this is a minor complaint about an otherwise strong bonus stage.

Completely Missing the Point: Not to be a total buzzkill or anything, but shouldn't Abu's bonus levels be about him stealing items? Is it that hard to come up with a pick-pocketing bonus stage? I would have had a much better time ransacking some poor guy's house looking for a golden ticket than dodging falling pots. It makes no sense. Who is throwing all of these pots and why can't Abu just go inside until the people upstairs have exhausted their supply? Unfortunately none of these questions were answered in Aladdin II.