| The Cat in the Hat | |
|---|---|
 PC cover art | |
| Developers |
|
| Publisher | Vivendi Universal Games[a] |
| Directors |
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| Producers |
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| Composer | Keith Leary (Game Audio Ltd.) |
| Platforms | Game Boy Advance,Windows,PlayStation 2,Xbox |
| Release | |
| Genre | Platform |
| Mode | Single-player |
The Cat in the Hat (also known asDr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat) is a 20032.5Dplatform game forPlayStation 2,Xbox,Microsoft Windows andGame Boy Advance. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were developed byMagenta Software. The Windows and Game Boy Advance versions were developed byDigital Eclipse. All versions of the game were published byVivendi Universal Games. It is based on the 2003 filmof the same name, which was released shortly after the game. A version for theGameCube was planned but was never released.[2]
Conrad and Sally's house serves as a hub world whose stages are household objects or rooms which have been corrupted by magic.[3][b] The Cat explores worlds and chases Quinn out of them while gathering the scattered magic.[3] In the game's boss fights, the Cat fights Quinn's machine[c] and fires projectiles into its exhaust pipe to damage it and obtain a portion of the Crablock.[3] There are ten levels, a bonus level, and threeboss fights.[d]
To traverse levels, the Cat can jump, glide and slam the ground with his umbrella, and collect enemies and explosive goo in bubbles for use as projectiles, among other maneuvers.[3] The Cat has fivehit points and takes damage by colliding with enemies, projectiles, and hazards.[3] Losing all five hit points or falling into abottomless pit causes the Cat to lose alife and be placed at the most recent checkpoint. Losing all lives results in agame over, sending the Cat to the beginning of the level. Collecting cupcake slices and hearts, respectively, restores hit points and lives.[3]
The game's primary collectible is small clusters of magic whose value varies by color.[3] Entering each stage requires a certain amount of magic, and collecting every cluster in a stage returns its appearance in the hub world to normal.[3] Each stage contains four keys – stolen by Thing One and Thing Two – which unlock a bonus door.[3][e] Bonus doors contain a short segment of gameplay with additional magic and a gem.[3] The game's secret level, Mystical Mirror, is unlocked by collecting every gem.[3] Finally,clapperboards can be found which unlock clips from the movie for viewing in the menu.[3]
In addition to platforming stages, the Game Boy Advance version contains four stages where the player scuba dives to obtain pieces of the Crablock. There's also a bonus stage where the Cat drives his cleaning machine to catch Thing One and Thing Two. Collectibles include icons related to the theme of the stage as well as enemies that have been defeated.
On a stormy day, Conrad (Chase Chavarria) and Sally (Andrea Bowen) are confined inside their house while their mother is gone. The Cat in the Hat (Chris Edgerly) arrives to bring them cheer, but their next-door neighbor, Larry Quinn (Fred Tatasciore), steals the Crablock which seals the Cat's magical crate, causing magic to flood the house and unleash chaos that threatens the world.[4] The Cat makes his way through different stages—household objects or rooms which have been corrupted by the magic—with the guidance of the family's fish (Nolan North), recaptures the magic, and chases Quinn, who is after the magic in a quest to become immensely powerful. After the Cat cleans the house of all magic and defeats Quinn, the Crablock reattaches to the crate, sealing away the magic.
The plot of the Game Boy Advance version is largely the same, with the exception that Conrad removes the lock, as Quinn is not present.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | (Xbox) 52.67%[5] (PS2) 50%[6] (GBA) 46.50%[7] (PC) 19.50%[8] |
| Metacritic | (Xbox) 56/100[9] (PS2) 56/100[10] (GBA) 40/100[11] (PC) 40/100[12] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer and Video Games | 30/100[13] |
| Famitsu | 27/40[14] |
| GameSpot | 3.8/10 (GBA)[15] |
| GameZone | (PC) 8/10[16] (PS2) 7.2/10[17] (GBA) 5/10[18] |
| IGN | 6/10[19] (GBA) 4/10[20] |
| Nintendo Power | 2.3/5[21] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine |   [22] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 5.5/10[23] |
| PC Gamer (UK) | 9%[24] |
| PC Zone | 30%[25] |
| X-Play | [26] |
The Cat in the Hat received mixed reviews,[5][6][9][10] except for the PC and Game Boy Advance versions, which received unfavorable reviews.[8][12][7][11]
GameZone gave the Windows version an overall score of 8/10, praising the gameplay as fun and easy, the graphics as "bright and vivid", and the soundtrack as "catchy", saying the presentation "captures the essence of Seuss" better than the movie. However, they criticized levels as "tend[ing] to be very similar to each other", the backgrounds as "pixelated", and the content as ordinary.[16]
Computer and Video Games gave the game a 3.0/10 and called it "a shameless cash-in", "just trash", "a big pile of sh...", and "fit for the litter tray".[13]
PC Gamer UK gave it a 9%, calling it "steamingeffluent" and the worst platform game they played. They criticized the Cat's performance as "annoying", cited bugs they experienced with the game such ascollision issues, complained of poor level design, and called the graphics "drab" and outdated.[24]
GameSpot gave the Game Boy Advance version a 3.8/10, calling games like it "the reason why licensed games have such a bad reputation". They said the game "isn't any fun to play", calling the gameplay boring and unimaginative. They praised the graphics as "pleasing to the eye", but called the sound design lackluster. They concluded that Vivendi "missed a great opportunity" and called it "just a generic punch-and-run".[15]
