NSync

NSync: Get to the Show
By Phil

Platform: GameBoy Colour
Developed by: Infogrames Interactive
Published by: Nintendo

Many of us will never get to live the high life that celebrities live, but due to the advent of interactive video technologies, simulating those lifestyles has never been easier. And with the creation of the GameBoy Colour, Nintendo allowed us to do that with more realism that ever (at the time). How close can anyone really say they've gotten to the facial follicles of Joey Fatone? About 3cm, when you put the GameBoy up to your face to be able to see the tiny screen. Some may see that as a negative, but it's a small price to pay to pretend to be Justin Timberlake and the other children that outgrew the Mickey Mouse Club. NSync: Get to the Show is all about joining the hit band on the road as they get to their show. Sure, you're basically their unpaid slave labour, but you get to experience all the fun they have on the road, be a part of their pre-show rituals, and even help them maintain their namesake on the stage with the simple press of a button.

GAMEPLAY

NSync: Get to the Show has five levels that take you on the road with the band. Of course, the guys want to ride in style, so you start off chauffeuring them around! And hey, little Suzie, you don't even need a licence! That's true Nintendo power! Basically, as you ride around, the guys will start dropping little hints about other places they'd like to stop off at before getting to the show. Gotta stay in shape at the bowling alley! There will be tons of girls when you get to the show, so you'd better stop at the flower shop too! The fast-paced celebrity lifestyle also leaves little time for breakfast, so why not take a detour to the doughnut shop while we're at it? While the limo moves forward you have to turn in to every place they suggest. Missed a stop? No sweat! JC is a pretty nice guy, so he won't get mad! In fact, none of them say anything at all if you don't do what they want, so why bother? The best part about this level is you can play it blindfolded and beat it in about a minute and a half.

The end of level 1 brings you into a dark tunnel, so the guys decide it's time to take a well-deserved snooze. Your job is now to multi-task. In addition to driving the limo, you have to stop all sorts of noisy things from waking the guys up! How things like dogs, cats, old ladies and creepy bald guys end up in your limo is beyond me, but I've heard of weirder things happening to celebrities! You play on a grid where each square reveals an NSync member or an annoying "noise maker." Press 'A' on one of the "noise makers" and they'll shut up and disappear! Press 'B' on an NSync member to make them go back to sleep. Be quick, though! In 'Super Fan' mode you might need to tend to all five NSyncers, and a cat, at the same time!

Did you know that even with all their diet talk, celebrities still like to eat unhealthy foods? Sure you did! That's why level 3 has you making custom burgers for each of the guys! The way it works is God throws burger ingredients down from the sky, and you have to catch them on a plate in the correct order. But don't worry if you get it wrong, because you have an infinite amount of tries. NSync are known for being good to their fans, and I bet they had something to do with that aspect of the game during its development.

The last two levels are kind of lumped together. You have to first help NSync do their pre-show ritual, which is basically playing hackey sack. You have to pass the sack between each member at least once without dropping it. Sounds fun, right? Well, it better be, because you have to do it five times, starting with a new NSync member each time! If there's one thing they learned from the Mickey Mouse Club, it's that everyone enjoys being first, even if you're first during the fifth round. Finally, after the rousing game(s) of hackey sack, you get to perform. It was interesting watching this happen, because you really get to see how talented these guys are, being able to mix and match the same three or four moves over and over, and still make it seem incredibly fresh each time. Some would say this was a limitation of the game technology, but I think the stunted, stiff, pixellated dance moves are accurate to their real life choreography. And as the icing on the cake, with the touch of a button, you can even make the guys dance in sync!

GRAPHICS

A simulator wouldn't be a very good simulator if it didn't look like real life. Thankfully, by the time the GameBoy Colour came around, visual game technology had gotten to the point where you could easily make out who was who in NSync based on unique features such as hair colour and hair shape. Has Justin Timberlake ever grown his hair long? Nope! Is his hair long in this game? Nope! It's uncanny! All of the environments are also very clear. It would be hard to mistake a large, unadorned platform as anything but a stage, and Infogrames pulled this off flawlessly.

AUDIO

How could you possibly have a game about performers without some good music? You may not hear any familiar NSync tunes in this game, but...well that was a shame, actually. I was pretty disappointed in that part of the game. The music they used sounds like some leftovers from Paperboy.

CONCLUSION

Set aside 20-30 minutes and enjoy an experience of a lifetime! NSync are pop culture icons, and to have them immortalized in an unknown game on a short-lived system certainly is a compliment to their success. I'm sure you'll love joining the NSync guys in their daily, hectic routine. It's a very easy game to get into and play, with some stunning graphics that make everything very identifiable. Unfortunately, there's not a single note heard of their classics such as "Bye Bye Bye" or the other one where they also sing in unison and dance. For that, the game loses 9 points out of 10.