Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Stretch Panic

Written by Omer Ali on July 27, 2001

First Impressions: Wait till ya hear about this one!

There have always been cool and cute little games that seem top defy logic and rake in the big bucks. Games like Super Mario, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic the Hedgehog have all seen massive amounts of success on all the systems they have graced. Coming to join these console giants is Stretch Panic. I still haven't figured out how the title works into the game itself, but I'm sure it'll all be part of the fun.

Stretch Panic introduces us to Linda. A little girl who has a huge family composed of twelve sisters. One day a whole bunch of demons decide to posses the minds of Linda and her twelve cute sisters. Exactly why these demons decide to corrupt the mind of such innocent little brats is still unknown. The demons are able to successfully posses the twelve sisters but not Linda, the reason being the demon sent to take over her mind is a little stupid and posses her scarf instead. I guess this is where the panic part comes in. Now Linda and her possessed scarf must save her sisters, I know I know УDuhФ.

Now I will explain the Stretch part. In the game Linda will be able to pull off a number of different moves to aid her in her quest. Linda's scarf will enable her to stretch, bend, and manipulate her environment in whatever manner she wants. The scarf will let Linda pull her environments towards her and bend it in various directions so that she can reach places that are normally unreachable. Linda can also use the environments as shield, catapults, and weapons to eliminate her enemies. Linda will also be able to use bend and manipulate her enemies and use them as weapons as well.

The graphical look of the games does not make total use of the PS2's power. You can very easily see the polygon edges on the character and makes it look like a last title to come out on the Playstation. Linda herself doesn't look as cute and smooth as she should. Most of the rendering went into the backgrounds and it shows. The backgrounds are cartoonish and comical, but they set the mood for the game very well.