Name: Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity

Genre: Action-Platformer

Platform: Wii

When playing a game like Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity, it really helps to know the source material.  For the uninitiated, Code Lyoko is a French cartoon that does a really good impression of a Japanese anime.  The story revolves around five big-headed children at a boarding school who find a secret underground supercomputer that allows them to travel to a virtual world called Lyoko.  There, the students are able to use various super powers to battle the evil would-be world conqueror Xana (thanks, Wikipedia!)  The game assumes that you already know all this as well as many minor details of the characters, locations and storylines of the popular series, but honestly, the story is pretty shallow and you can certainly play through the game listening to the minimum of inane dialog.  If you're playing this game, though, you're probably a fan, and will therefore want to hear what all your classmates, teachers and enemies have to say.

You'll control four characters in the game: Aelita, the pink-haired artificial intelligence, Ulrich, the introverted cyber-samurai, Yumi, his short tempered girlfriend and Odd, who is apparently some sort of mildly retarded cat-person.  Players can switch between the students at any time in order to utilize each of their unique attacks and special abilities.  Most of the gameplay consists of simple puzzle-platforming sequences where you'll battle groups of nondescript robot monsters. The Wii controls work well enough, with the nunchuk used to control movement and the Wii-mote used to aim and attack.  Combat is satisfactory, but underwhelming.  There are some decent weapons and special abilities to be unlocked, and though the regular enemies are uninspired and forgettable, some of the bosses present fun and interesting challenges.  There are space flight sequences to break up the action as well.  While these prove to be less interesting than the combat, they are short and not too obtrusive.  A static 2-d rendering of the boarding school serves as your hub, granting access to your missions, options and bonus content, as well as the bulk of the story content.  

Now I'm going to make fun of the graphics. 

Honestly, all of this talk of satisfactory gameplay is moot when you take into account the dismal graphics.  From an art direction standpoint...actually I'm not 100% sure there is any art direction in this game.  Characters follow the show's design, but environments consist entirely of massive, ugly polygons with almost no texturing at all.  Other than a vaguely Tron-esque look to most boards, there is zero personality or detail in the level designs.  The Wii isn't known for it's graphical power, but Code Lyoko is simply embarrassing.  Character models aren't terribly detailed, but are still so bump-mapped that they look like action figures.  Lighting effects are simply non-existent, and weapon effects are dull and puny, detracting from the satisfaction of combat.  This may be the least visually interesting game since the days of the Atari 2600.

This is the gray board.  It's gray. 

The combination of just above mediocre gameplay and ten-year old graphics is always a recipe for disaster, and Code Lyoko is no exception.  The only worthwhile thing in this game is the content tied to the license, and that's only a plus for fans of the show.  Devotees will be thrilled to see and talk to almost every character seen in the series  For everyone else, it will just be an annoying aspect of a game that's not worth playing anyway.