Upon first glance, Rotoadventures Momos, by Happy Nutz Studio looks like a low-rent Sonic The Hedgehog rip off. Sonic is replaced by various squirrel characters. Coins are replaced by, well, amorphous blue dots. Similar, yet differently colored dots are replacements for power-ups. This IS just the first glance though. The actual game play is quite different.
GAME PLAY
Rotoadventures Momos relies much less on speed and acrobatics, when compared to Sonic games. Unfortunately, these aspects are not replaced with any original or interesting utilities. Players generally complete stages by guiding the characters through simplistic boards, accomplishing specific tasks, then ultimately, just looking for the exit sign. Controlling these squirrel characters is quite simple. The mouse cursor becomes an acorn. The character being played continuously walks toward that acorn. The farther away the acorn is, the faster he or she will run. The only other thing to do is left click. This will, in most circumstances, cause the squirrel to jump. Left clicking does serve other purposes, depending on the stage being played.
GRAPHICS
The visual display of Rotoadventure Momos is magnificent. All characters, items, and environments are expertly drawn, and well animated. Nothing on the screen seems out of place or unnecessary, and yet, there is plenty for the eyes to feast upon. The menu screens are nice to look at, and are laid out in such a manner that they are easy to navigate. As users start up the program, they will be given graphic options, which is nice for players with older computers. Graphics are only great if they do not slow down the game play.
AUDIO
Happy Nutz Studio put some cool peppy music into this game. The characters make cute sounds when players interact with them. Sadly, that's about it. There is not much in the way of sound effects. Collecting those infamous blue dots makes no noticeable sounds, which is oddly discomforting. I never thought I'd miss that ding sound I hear in any other game when I collect such a trinket.
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Rotoadventure Momos is slightly different from other platformers from our past, but it is not different enough. Cutesy squirrels and tree top ramps are just not enough to entice jaded players to try what is ultimately just another game.
OVERALL
It is good but not great, unimaginative, but not boring, playable, but not buyable. $19.95 is too much to pay for a watered down platforming experience. Rotoadventure Momos gets a 3/5.