I recently saw Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer so I really wanted to play the game! I finally managed to find it in the outskirts of the city and it was well worth the 1.89$ that I paid for it! I have to admit that I feel really bad for the people who paid 30 dollars to buy it on opening day though. Man, those people must have been shocked at what arrived in their homes that day. Heh heh heh…okay, let’s start the review!

The game follows the events of the film, but really only the ending of it. There are a couple of minigames as you build toys for the kid who have waited all year to open their presents. Luckily, you will only have to wait a few minutes to go and deliver it to them. See, the game’s length is rather infamous. Remember when I played the Casper video game that you could beat in around 15-20 minutes? This game is even shorter as the run time is more like 6-10 minutes not including the short cutscenes that probably extend it to around 13-15. It’s a blast and a half….if you have not played a video game before!

One of the video games involves baking cookies. Okay…you basically have to swing your wii remote three different ways. Strike once to pound the batter, Next strike to smooth it out, shove it in the oven, and throw in the toppings. Rinse and repeat until the timer runs out to show that you have completed the game! Next up, you have to punch presents into Santa’s bag or onto the Christmas tree. This is probably the trickiest minigame thanks to the controls. Still, it’s about as easy as World 1-1 of the average Mario game or even easier since you can’t die. Just move with the Wii Remote and you’ll be find. Finally, you have to ride with Rudolph and friends to drop presents on the kid’s houses. This one’s the easiest as you can literally just drop presents for eternity. Just keep dropping them and most of the presents will actually land on the house. You’re not penalized for missing so you can do this with your eyes closed! There’s also a paintball minigame where you have to throw paints at the toys. It’s very similar to the Basketball minigame from Mario Party 4 so it’s pretty catchy.

There’s no way to lose any of the games so completing this title will be simplicity itself. Now, those minigames probably didn’t sound like a lot of fun, but you can try to make them more exciting. See, each game actually has a score at the top so you can try to get it as high as possible. There’s no actual reward or incentive for doing so, but why not right? You may as well to pass the time by. On the bright side, the game is so incredibly short that it never drags on.

The graphics are surprisingly good/decent considering how cheaply produced the game was. The character models aren’t stretched or blurry and the in game graphics are surprisingly clear. I feel like the graphics got all of the attention from the developers so they could at least make the trailer look good. For everyone who bought the game, they probably celebrated with a pizza. There isn’t much of a soundtrack, but that probably goes without saying. (The theme that plays when you start the game is catchy!) We do have the classic Rudolph song though and that’s always great!

I appreciate the fact that there is a story mode even if it is extremely short. After each minigame, you get a small cutscene with the snowman from the intro to the film. He has a new voice actor who isn’t nearly as good, but he tries his best to be warm and friendly. The credits aren’t included when you finish the final minigame so you’ll have to go to the menu and enter the credits that have been available from the start. I guess they knew that you would finish it quickly so they decided to have the credits at the ready. Not a bad strategy right?

We also can’t forget about the hilarious loading screen for this game. In Super Smash Bros for the Wii U, people love to crouch over and over again. It’s a taunt in a way and it especially comes in handy when you are out of the normal ones. Well, the loading screen here just has the Yeti crouch spamming. That’s the loading screen! It’s like an inside joke that the developers are in on and the gamer can’t be apart of it. The loading screen almost makes the game and you’ll remember it for quite some time!

Rudolph is the perfect example of why I am always on the lookout for new games at the 5 dollar bargain bin. In particular, the Wii has a ton of “Shovelware” titles that actually turn out to be a lot of fun or at least highly amusing. This title will always hold a special place in my heart along with Casper for being so short that it is practically a parody of a game. No matter how small the budget was, it’s just incredible that anyone could actually get away with making a game that is this short. You’d almost expect the game to be sued!

Overall, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer is a game that is so short that I’m tempted to give it a mere 3 stars. I still feel that it’s worth the extra star because the actual minigames are enjoyable and they don’t feel repetitive. I may have felt differently if I got it for 30 dollars, but at under 2 dollars, 10 minutes sounds pretty decent. I only recommend this game if you know what you are getting into. It’s one of the best 2 dollar games that I have played not counting sport titles. This is the kind of game that you will want to have at parties so that you can laugh at it along with your friends in some good natured fun. I don’t think I’ll ever be playing this game again since there is no real replay value to be found (I guess you could beat your high scores….) but it was a decent one time ride. Don’t believe all of the negative reviews (Mine is negative though) about the game not being fun. It is short, but the actual minigames are fun! Just watch the trailer and get back to me…

Overall 4/10