While it’s been a while since I’ve last played any of the Tony Hawk and Splatoon games, I like to think I’m a fan of both of the series. Never in a million years would I think someone would try to mix both of these together, let alone someone like Climax Studios and Crayola (yes, THAT Crayola you grew up coloring with). But that’s exactly what we’re getting here in Crayola Scoot, a wonky but fun game you’ll want to paint the town with.
As with most games nowadays, you start off by creating a character to your liking, then it’s off to learn about the controls and crazy tricks you can pull off in this colorful world. Using a scooter, it’s up to you to master the iffy controls that take some time getting used to. This is mainly because the right analog stick is used to make jumps, with you pulling back on it then flinging it forward to control the power of the jump, while one of the left triggers allows you to grind. Throw in a boost button and some sensitive movements from the controls, and you have a frustrating mess at first, but it gets better with time as you get used to it.
Once you do, you’ll be pulling off tricks while racking up points and shooting your color paint everywhere in the process. This is what the game is all about really, as you get to put your skills to the test in the various modes here while trying to make a name for yourself on the leaderboard as you face down seven rivals to see who is the best. As you make your way to each rival, you’ll have to tackle levels that each have three difficulties: easy, medium, and hard that also allow you to earn stars depending on which one you pick. For example, you’ll get one star for winning on easy, two for winning on medium, and three for winning on the hard difficulty. You can also invite up to three of your friends for some local co-op action.
Levels will include different modes such as “Trick Run” that has you pulling off tricks to get the highest score out of your rivals. “Crazy Crayon” is a race against your rivals to see who can collect the most crayons in the level, “Splatter Tag” has you using your paint to coat as many of your rivals as possible, and lastly there’s a frenzy mode that will remind Splatoon fans of the multiplayer mode where you cut loose with your stunts and tricks to fling out as much paint as you can to cover the area while your rivals do the same. Needless to say that this is the most intense of the modes and will keep players on their toes.
When you finally confront one of the “Scoot Legend” rivals, you’re forced into a one on one challenge where you’ll have to take turns pulling off the best tricks, stunts and combos with the loser of each round receiving a letter in the word “Scoot” and the first person to spell the word out loses. These rival challenges were just as intense as the frenzy mode as the computer AI can be really tough to beat.
Even though this looks like a kids game and for the most part it is, only older players will truly be able to progress in Crayola Scoot due to its hard to master controls and other frustrating moments that kids will stay away from. Those who take the time to learn the controls and tricks however will find themselves ready to paint the levels and their rivals red, blue, and any other color out there.
