Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2005)

I'm rating this game as good and not excellent for the simple fact that the controls are a bit sticky and that the game at times is more frustrating than fun. But otherwise, a very solid game.

When I say sticky controls I mean simply that you often have to let go of all buttons to press a new one otherwise it won't register....and in the heat of the moment this can sometimes cause you to take damage from a baddie or fall into a hole.

As for the frustration, this is a personal issue I had with the game, not everyone may agree. In certain levels or to get to certain rooms I found that things had to be repeated over and over and over again to get it right, which zaps all the fun out of it for me. I don't expect to get through a game on the first try without failing, but having to do something over and over again too many times is a pain in the butt. Many times in the game you encounter a level thats quite challenging, and then on top of that they've added something in that can take you right back to the begining if you dont do things exactly right, or something that reverses your controls if you get caught by it. Now in a normal level this wouldnt have been so bad, but some of these tasks were already so difficult that the addition of these extra obstacles was, as I said, more frustrating than fun.

Apart from that, a VERY solid game....stays true to the movie in many ways while not following the story of the film at all (its a prequel to the film). Gameplay was good, you get weapons and then upgrades which adds some variety to things. The game is not terribly linear, as you have to revisit areas to get things you couldn't before, and all this can be done when and if you want to (thought the game will be harder if you don't). The world maps are easy to read and the save points are nott oo far apart. Enemies regenerate when you go back into a room, but so do powerups so things are kept even unlike some games where everything is stacked against you.

I read alot of negative reviews for this game before I bought it, but they're all bunk as far as I'm concerned. Being a huge fan of the series, I absolutely LOVE this game. It plays like Castlevania or Metroid, but you play as Jack (occasionally Zero) and you're jumping, climbing, stretching, sticking, and melting your way across Halloweentown. You're weapons are cool too, including a couple that are straight from the movie, like Frog's Breath, and the ability to turn into The Pumpkin King, although, the latter's abilities are unfortunately extremely limited. Overall, if you're a fan of the film, OR a fan of 2-d platform games, you're gonna love this. I, fortunately, am a fan of both, so I can't get enough of this game. As a matter of fact the ONLY complaint I have about this game, is Jack's blue outline for the entire game. It makes no sense, is totally useless, and detracts ALOT more from the look and feel of the game than you might think it would. Aside from that one eency-weency, little complaint, I think this game is incredibly fun, and cool looking, and has enough replay value to keep you looking for all the pick-ups and shrunken heads for hours.

I recommend it.

The game was bought for my 5 year old Grandson, he was able to play it with out getting frustrated or bored. They love the movie and he also loves this game.

I bought this game for my 5 year old nephew. He loves Jack Skellington and my girls have the game so he wanted one.

(From user's son)I love this game because it has a very Tim Burton-like style to it and I love the nightmare before christmas