Summary
- 🎮 Name of the gameBen 10: Protector of Earth
- 📅 Launch dateOctober 30, 2007
- 🏢 Developer: High Voltage Software
- 📌 Publisher: D3 Publisher
- 🖥️ Platforms: PlayStation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii
- ⚔️ Genre: Action, Adventure, Hack and Slash
- 🌍 ContextBased on Cartoon Network's hit animated series “Ben 10,” the game follows Ben Tennyson as he travels across the United States facing alien threats after his Omnitrix is sabotaged.
History and narrative
Ben wakes up one morning to discover that his Omnitrix is malfunctioning, apparently because a random drone damaged it in a not very explainable way. As a result, he can only transform into five of his ten aliens, so he goes from being Ben 10 to Ben 5. In fact, at the beginning of the game, you can only use two aliens: Four Arms and Fire, and the idea is to recover the pieces of the Omnitrix by facing several classic enemies of the series. In total you recover five, the other five can not be used at any time.
Beyond losing many of the iconic aliens, our group learns of a major threat that will test Ben's abilities. The characters are well rendered and true to the animated series. Gwen, Grandpa Max and villains like Vilgax and Kevin 11 have a prominent presence. The dialogue is simple but functional, suitable for a young audience, and is very straight to the point to advance the story.
As the first Ben 10 game, it laid the groundwork for future installments. Despite having a very linear, direct and simple story, it is easy to follow, especially for fans of its time, mostly children. Mind you, the ending is very strange, and by the way, you never get all the aliens back, which is a bit disappointing.
Gameplay
This is the game's strongest point and what saves it by far. The mechanics combine hack and slash combat, platforming and solving small puzzles. Ben can transform into five aliens, each with unique abilities that are used in both combat and exploration.
The game draws too much inspiration from God of War, with very similar mechanics. The controls are quite responsive, especially on PS2 and Wii. On DS it has technical limitations, but it works well. Transformations are quick and easy to use, with a timeout to recharge the Omnitrix, just like in the series.Can you fight as Ben? Yes, although the damage he does is a joke and he dies with few hits, but it's not impossible.
The bosses are very memorable, especially the first one, which, although it's a mini-boss, is practically a copy of the Rhodes Colossus from God of War 2. You can watch a video and notice that they are almost identical. When you defeat him, you get XLR8. Then you can get Cannonbolt (Cannonball) and Wildvine, although not being able to use all the original aliens is a negative point because it limits the experience quite a bit.
The first boss, Inok, is very well done (although not canon), with a giant size and a sword that causes a lot of damage, so you have to be careful. The floor boss is also great, has fun mechanics and you literally have to break his balls to beat him.
The fight against Kevin is good, the bad thing is when he starts flying, because attacking enemies in the air is complicated. Even worse is the fight against Six Six, where this weakness is more evident. The battle against Fantasmático can divide opinions, because it's more of a puzzle than a fight. He doesn't directly confront you, but instead possesses normal enemies and throws them at you. My favorite fight is definitely against Doctor Animo. Very moving, beautifully visual and very memorable. Finally, the final boss is Vilgax, and it puts everything you've learned to the test. Each alien has specific and unique attacks, even with combos we didn't even see in the series.
Overall, it is a very accessible game for young players or beginners. The mechanics are well explained and the enemies and challenges are introduced progressively. It is a very fun game in terms of gameplay.
Graphics and visual design
For its time, the graphic quality was good, I would say acceptable. The characters are well modeled and the animations are fluid. The art style is cartoon-like, faithful to the aesthetics of the program, with vibrant colors and varied scenarios such as forests, cities and deserts, which gets you more into the game.
the world of Ben 10.
The level design was very good, I still remember that you could break the nose of a Mount Rushmore statue, a very nice detail. The traps were well placed and the enemy, boss and mini-boss designs are totally memorable and true to the series.
Sound and music
The soundtrack does its job, with light action music and ambient themes according to each area. It is a very heroic music, clearly intended for the target audience: young fans who grew up with the series.
The sound effects are well done, with specific sounds for each transformation and attack. It delivers well. Voice acting is limited, not the main focus, and was only available in English. Also, the original cast was not used in all versions, which can detract from the immersion. It would have been better to use the original voices for a more authentic experience.
Difficulty and accessibility
The overall difficulty is low, a small child could win it. Combat is easy and the game is very linear. Maybe the puzzles can get a little complicated, but nothing too serious. There are points where the difficulty ramps up a bit with the bosses, but overall it is very accessible for its target audience.
Regarding accessibility, at the time it came out, this was not a priority, not even something to consider, so it is super limited. There are no specific configurations for people with disabilities, although due to its simple design, it is still manageable.
Additional content
The game can take about 6 hours if you don't know it, and about 4 if you already know what to do. Its replayability is average, as it doesn't offer significant extra content, beyond unlocking galleries and upgrading the Omnitrix, which does motivate a bit to replay the campaign with those upgrades. In my case, I remember playing it between 6 and 10 times when I was younger. There are some additional levels, but very few, so it's basically the campaign and that's it.
Technical Aspects
On consoles like PS2 and Wii, the game has a stable performance. On DS there are some slowdowns, but it is still playable. Of course, the game has its bugs and glitches. Nothing serious, but things like Ben going through walls, loss of ambient sound (especially in some boss fights where you literally play in mute, and you have to restart), frozen enemies, etc. do happen. For the time it was common to see this kind of errors, although in some cases you may have to restart the whole game. Even so, it is well optimized for the hardware it was released on.
Value for money
In my case, I played it on a PS2 with a copy, so its price was very low and it gave me a very good experience. If you ask me if it's worth buying it original, I think not so much, but a copy is worth it. In the end, you enjoy exactly the same, and at the time, it was a very good buy.
Conclusion
Ben 10: Protector of Earth is an excellent example of how to adapt an animated series to the video game format in an entertaining and respectful way with the original material. Despite its technical and narrative limitations and not being able to use all the aliens, it is still a fun and nostalgic experience, especially for those who grew up watching the series as in my case, where I remember spending hours playing this title and I appreciate it very much in my childhood. An underrated game, but very focused on fans only.
My final rating for Ben 10: Protector of Earth is:
3.6/5
