Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Whiplash

Written by Andrew Fitch on September 25, 2003

First Impressions: Can a game in which you dip a rabbit in toxic waste really be described as Уpro-animal rightsФ?

From Shinra in Final Fantasy VII to Rupture Farms in the Oddworld series, the giant corporation simply can't get any love from game designers. Even the most evil giant corporation surely stimulates the economy of a given video game world, providing jobs for thousands of people (or aliens, in Oddworld's case). But such contributions seem to be ignored, and thus, the corporation always plays the bad guy. Even mad scientists and warlocks play the hero once in a while, but never the giant corporation. Whiplash will buck no trends, as the main enemy in Eidos' upcoming platformer will be the dastardly Genron Corporation. Whiplash minces no words, as this nefarious conglomerate is run by a demented and corrupt CEO known as F.D. Mann (who is most clearly evil, as indicated by the scar on his face).

But Whiplash is not merely an Уevil giant corporation gameФ -- it's also a Уmessage game.Ф Now, message games are not nearly as prevalent as they once were -- their heyday seems to have come in the early С90s, when even classic characters like Swamp Thing were battling greedy industrialists in order to save the environment. Still, as anyone who's played Metal Gear Solid knows, today's designers still like to slip in a few political views from time to time. Most Уmessage gamesФ are pro-environment or anti-nuclear, though -- and that's where Whiplash is different. As far as I can tell, it's the first-ever anti-animal testing game. But unlike Hideo Kojima's heavy-handed anti-nuclear rants in the Metal Gear Solid series, Whiplash will handle its message with dark humor.

And indeed, the game's premise is rather dark -- Genron cruelly tests a myriad of animals in the name of progress and science: The company shocks monkeys (though Peter Gabriel, known to be rather demented himself, is nowhere in sight), fires hamster-ish looking things from cannons, and kicks small li'l fuzzballs into the air with giant robotic boots. But now two of these tortured animals are about to have their misery ended: Spanx, a weasel, and Redmond, a rabbit, no longer serve a purpose to Genron -- so they're about to be combined into a УreaselФ in a demented experiment. We've seen a УrobbitФ in the Jumping Flash series, but I don't think we've ever seen a УreaselФ in the video game world before...

But those of you who long to see such an animal will be disappointed, as this experiment provides the perfect opportunity for the duo to escape. Spanx and Redmond make a break for it at the last possible second, and their mission is now clear: They must take down Genron from the top, which means taking on F.D. Mann himself. However, all the testing has taken a toll on the poor li'l creatures (notice I didn't describe them as Уcute,Ф or even hint at it!). Spanx has endured tons of electroshock treatment, which has left him a rather neurotic creature...and not very smart. As for Redmond..well, just wait!

Although Whiplash stars two characters, it's not a two-player game, and you won't select between the two creatures -- you'll play as both Spanx and Redmond at once. This is because the two are actually still chained together from their aborted experiment! Since Spanx is the larger of the two animals, he'll be the one you'll actually control, while a flailing and unhappy Redmond will be along for the ride.

The two-characters-at-once thing has certainly been done before over the past couple of years, with games like Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. However, Whiplash differs in that you'll use one of the characters to attack the enemy -- literally! Redmond has endured testing with so many cosmetics that he's now essentially indestructible, making him the perfect weapon to stop your enemies in their tracks. And there are many, many ways to do so: You can dip him in toxic waste, inflate him with helium, freeze him, light him on fire, electrify him -- you'll even be able to stuff him down toilets in order to flood the floor!

And Redmond will need endure this torture constantly, as there will always be a plethora of demented Genron employees after our dynamic (?) duo. The list includes an army of hazmat troopers, a cruel cafeteria lady (who makes Lunchlady Doris from The Simpsons look rather attractive by comparison...), and a disturbing-looking mad scientist, among others. Spanx and Redmond won't be alone against this odd collection of characters, though -- the animals they rescue along the way will help them in their quest.

Even though Whiplash would seem to be riding the coattails of games like Jak and Daxter, the developers were actually inspired by Ren and Stimpy, as well as last year's computer-animated film, Ice Age. In fact, Spanx reminds me a little of the sloth voiced by John Leguizamo in that movie. I was never a fan of the gross-out humor on Ren and Stimpy, but given all the torture Redmond has to endure in the game, Whiplash seems to borrow more from the Jackass school of comedy than anything.

Overall, Whiplash seems to play like a standard platformer, aside from the fact that you'll bash baddies with a bunny. The graphics actually don't look overly impressive at this point -- the framerate and scrolling seem slightly choppy, though that may change in the finished game. The lighting is rather cold and dark, and the colors are somewhat washed-out. They may be going for a Уheartless labФ feel, but for me, it's not a very attractive look. Developer Crystal Dynamics is known for their work on the vampire-themed Legacy of Kain, so maybe they just forgot to turn down the gothic lighting on their workstations...

Another potential problem may be the repetitiveness of the levels, as the game will take place completely at Genron. Eidos promises that it'll feature varied locations, such as the company labs, sewers and corporate offices, but the levels I've seen don't look all that different from each other. It's unclear how much voice work will be in the game -- since it'll rely on a lot of humor, one would expect a lot of colorful characters. Spanx seems to be silent, but Redmond has a shrill li'l bunny voice, which seems to work well.