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90
Play Magazine
DJ exemplifies the maturation of handheld gaming - full-fledged console quality in a smaller, more approachable package. [Aug 2005, p.52]
75
PSM Magazine
It's not impossibly hard, but easily frustrated, weak sauce gamers may want to try before they buy. Still, Death Jr. has a great style, and the characters have a lot of personality, so even with its flaws, it's definitely worth playing. [Sept 2005, p.82]
A monotonous shooter with a crippled camera and a crush on "Psychonauts." [Sept 2005, p.93]
8
7RKDN
As far as PSP games go, there are far worse ones than Death Jr. That isn't to say the game is a masterpiece by any means, but it's a good game all things considered. The whole game feels very similar to the Ratchet and Clank games. Death Jr is at first quite appealing visually, and many people have said the theme is not unlike some of Tim Burton's theatrical works such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. The characters are all outlandish takes on popular horror tropes, and each of the stages has a theme relating to a specific horror genre. The game itself isn't scary and it's not supposed to be. The game make many attempts at humor although some of them simply fall flat on their face. The game features an assortment of weaponry that the player progressively attains as they get further into the story, again feeling very much like a Ratchet and Clank game, albeit these weapons often have a twist of dark humor in them (such as the C-4 Hamsters), their functions are the same as many of the weapons commonly found in 3rd person shooter genres. As for the story, there isn't really much of one to speak of. It's there, but because of the non-linear order of the stages it's hard to follow what's going on. What I mean by non-linear is that you start off in a main hub area in which you can enter gateways to each of the stages, which can be completed in any order. After you've completed the first set of stages, the next set becomes available, and the process continues until the end of the game. Moving on to the actual gameplay, the engine is fairly solid and the controls are decent. The mix between the beat-em-up style combat and the parkour nature of the stages is a nice touch. The stages do get a bit repetitive after a while, though. There aren't any real bugs in the game, at least none that are game-breaking. Overall, Death Jr. is a decent game for it's time, though I wouldn't get excited about it.

Death Jr.

Released On: 
Aug 16, 2005
Metascore
61
User score
Generally Favorable
8.3
My Score
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Metascore
18% Positive
7 Reviews
70% Mixed
28 Reviews
13% Negative
5 Reviews
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
Play Magazine
DJ exemplifies the maturation of handheld gaming - full-fledged console quality in a smaller, more approachable package. [Aug 2005, p.52]
72
eToychest
It seems likely the world will see more of DJ, and gamers should look forward to it; but maybe next time the movie should come out before the game.
68
Gaming Target
The core ideas are there, and the challenge is refreshing in these days of infinite lives and sometimes simple gameplay. But the unpolished controls and targeting system cause massive headaches on top of being challenged, thus making the game more difficult than it should be.
60
Modojo
After all of the hype about the story, the Death Jr. comic book, and the upcoming film, one would think that the actual game would include a kick @$$ story, but that's just not the case.
57
PSX Extreme
A dodgy camera and touchy controls can be fixed. I know I wasn't the only one at E3 who told the producer that the camera was a mess. But, alas, they shipped this most stylish and most gore-riffic game with its major problems still intact.
50
Stuff
Bury this one six feet under. Even if the Tim Burton aesthetic turns you on, the tepid gameplay makes this disc DOA.
30
GameCritics
A whole lot of hot air and buzz with nothing to back it up.
See All 40 Critic Reviews
User score
Generally Favorable
82% Positive
14 Ratings
12% Mixed
2 Ratings
6% Negative
1 Rating
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
Jul 7, 2018
8
7RKDN
As far as PSP games go, there are far worse ones than Death Jr. That isn't to say the game is a masterpiece by any means, but it's a good game all things considered. The whole game feels very similar to the Ratchet and Clank games. Death Jr is at first quite appealing visually, and many people have said the theme is not unlike some of Tim Burton's theatrical works such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. The characters are all outlandish takes on popular horror tropes, and each of the stages has a theme relating to a specific horror genre. The game itself isn't scary and it's not supposed to be. The game make many attempts at humor although some of them simply fall flat on their face. The game features an assortment of weaponry that the player progressively attains as they get further into the story, again feeling very much like a Ratchet and Clank game, albeit these weapons often have a twist of dark humor in them (such as the C-4 Hamsters), their functions are the same as many of the weapons commonly found in 3rd person shooter genres. As for the story, there isn't really much of one to speak of. It's there, but because of the non-linear order of the stages it's hard to follow what's going on. What I mean by non-linear is that you start off in a main hub area in which you can enter gateways to each of the stages, which can be completed in any order. After you've completed the first set of stages, the next set becomes available, and the process continues until the end of the game. Moving on to the actual gameplay, the engine is fairly solid and the controls are decent. The mix between the beat-em-up style combat and the parkour nature of the stages is a nice touch. The stages do get a bit repetitive after a while, though. There aren't any real bugs in the game, at least none that are game-breaking. Overall, Death Jr. is a decent game for it's time, though I wouldn't get excited about it.
See 1 User Review
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SummaryDeath, Jr. embarks with his friends on a school fieldtrip to the local museum. When the group sneaks away to explore on their own, they unwittingly unleash an ancient evil force from a mysterious locked box. Facing near insurmountable odds and the threat of being grounded and sent to military school, Death, Jr. and his pals must fight ho... Read More
Rated Tfor Teen
  • PSP
Aug 16, 2005
  • Backbone Entertainment
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