The game’s hub is broken up into two areas: Kadic, the kids’ school, and the neighbouring abandoned factory. When in Kadic, you’re able to interact with other characters from the TV show and get involved in little side-stories, such as Sessie’s brief career as the school’s newspaper journalist. While these stories don’t necessarily have anything to do with the game’s main plot, they provide a fan-service and bring some humour to the game. Kadic also features unlockable still images from the TV show, and a gallery which displays the winning entries from a drawing competition.
We can go forwards or backwards.
The factory is where the supercomputer to Lyoko is stationed. In the game, this area allows you to select which missions you want to undertake as well as upgrade the abilities of each playable character. Unfortunately, the missions are fairly linear and usually have the same objectives to complete - make your way to a tower, destroy any enemies that block your path and activate switches to overcome obstacles such as canyons and doors. To mix things up a bit however, you’re able to switch between the series’ four main heroes; Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Aelita. Like other platform games, each character has their own unique abilities which players have to utilise in order to complete missions. For example, some enemies have advanced armour which can only be penetrated by using Ulrich’s laser swords, while Yumi can lock-on to multiple opponents with her fans.
As you progress through the game, you’ll also gain new abilities for each character. Some of the more basic techniques include being able to rebound off walls, balancing over narrow pathways and even fly over short distances. Additionally, there are special moves which drain your energy bar including Aelita’s ability to freeze enemies and Odd’s ability to slow down time and cross vanishing platforms.
Our favourite character was Yumi, there was something we liked about those fans.
Unfortunately, despite the differences between each character, the game doesn’t utilise the system to its full potential. Most of the time you’re just walking from room to room fighting enemies, which makes it easy to use a single character for long periods of time. Even when the game does require the use of a character’s special ability, it’s usually for trivial purposes such as accessing a shortcut or unblocking your pathway. The game does nothing new for the genre and as a result, it gets repetitive and dull.
Between traveling to new levels, you will occasionally have to cross the Digital Sea using the Skidbladnir, a small submarine. During these moments the gameplay changes to an on-rails experience where you have to lock-on to enemy targets and release missiles to destroy them. As you progress through the game, the enemies become more difficult and will only be vulnerable to your attacks at a close range. Although it’s only a simple addition, it’s really quite fun and provides a welcome change of pace to the game.
The Wii version of Quest for Infinity implements motion controls when characters utilise their unique abilities. These include waving the Wii remote like a sword when using Ulrich, flicking it side to side to rebound off walls and in the case of Aelita, putting it above your head to freeze enemies. Like many other ports, the motion controls feel tacked on and make Quest for Infinity a less pleasing experience.
As you move closer, it all blends in.
Like the TV show, Quest for Infinity adapts two visual styles. When in the real world, players are treated to 2D environments while Lyoko features 3D. Unfortunately, the 3D environments are really bland and ugly. At times, surfaces are the same colour and blend in together, making it difficult to distinguish walkways and hazards. Surprisingly, the game also suffers from framerate issues. If you destroy more than two enemies at once, the game will slow down. There’s even an entire level where the framerate drops regardless if there are enemies on screen or not. As for the game’s audio, voice acting is decent but sound effects and music are completely unmemorable.
Although there were several promising features in Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity, such as switching between characters and utilising their special abilities, as a whole the game is generic. The motion controls feel tacked on, there are some serious frame rate issues and the game doesn’t do anything new for the genre. Unless you’re a fan of the show, then there is little on offer that will hold your interest.
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