An absolute legend when it comes to character and physical comedy, Jim Carrey had a bit of a hot streak in the 1990s, that propelled him far into the 2000s. Really kicking off his career in style, 1994 saw not one, not two, but threeJim Carrey classicsrelease, those beingThe Mask,Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, andDumb and Dumber, all of which really showcased the actor’s prowess in the world of physical comedy. For the next decade or so, Jim Carrey would be approached continuously for more physically-demanding roles like these, and while they’re all solid, none is quite as iconic as his portrayal of theGrinch.
Originally published all the way back in 1957,How the Grinch Stole Christmastells the beloved story of a green creature that hates Christmas and attempts to ruin it for those in the town below before learning that Christmas is actually about love and family. It’s a classic tale, and Jim Carrey’s leading performance in the 2000 film of the same name is almost equally classic. But where there’s a classic movie, a video game adaptation is sure to follow, and that was exactly the case with Konami’sThe Grinchon PlayStation 1.
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Remembering the 2000’s Grinch Game
Released alongsidethe 2000 movie,The Grinchsees players control the titular green meanie as he attempts to ruin Christmas for all of Whoville. During the opening cutscene, the Grinch loses his blueprints, apparently needed to create all the gadgets required to ruin the festive fun. Players must venture out into the different hub-worlds of Whoville to collect these blueprints, craft new devilish gadgets and weapons, and steal the town’s supply of presents.
When exploring Whoville, players will need to avoid the town’s overly friendly citizens, who all try tohug The Grinch into submission. To avoid them, players can either use some rudimentary stealth mechanics to sneak by or use The Grinch’s arsenal of gadgets and weaponry. Players start off only with The Grinch’s bad breath, which will be enough to tackle smaller foes. As the game progresses, players will unlock various machines, such as a rotten egg launcher. If a Whoville citizen gets too close, the player will need to shake them off by waggling the analog stick.
In general,The Grinchisn’t a great game. In the modern age,The Grinch’s visualslook obviously very outdated, but it’s the game’s performance that’s truly disappointing, with large amounts of pop-in and some pretty inconsistent framerates throughout. Even at the time,The Grinchwas considered a bit of a technical missfire, and critics were sure to condemn the game for it, along with its simplistic gameplay and dull level design.
That being said,The Grinchon PlayStation 1 just has an undeniable sense of charm about it. Though the level design of each stage isn’t too innovative, the actual visual design of each area of Whoville captures the spirit of the movie very well, with colorful buildings and bizarre architecture. The character models also capture the magic of Seuss' original book and the movie, with the titular fiend looking suitably evil withthe PS1’s blocky polygonal textures. The scale ofThe Grinchshould also be commended, with each hub-world of Whoville offering a fairly large explorable area with a decent amount to do in each. For kids,The Grinchwas a surprisingly solid tie-in game that did exactly what it needed to do: provide more of what they loved about the movie.
The Grinchis available on PS1, PC, and Dreamcast.
