by In 1995, Sega developed and published Garfield: Caught in the Act, a fairly standard licensed platformer with puzzle elements.
The premise of the game is that Odie and Garfield broke Jon’s TV. They rush to repair it before he gets back, throwing away some excess parts. These parts come alive as Glitch, the main villain. Garfield is then pulled inside the TV by Glitch and must make his way through movie-inspired levels and defeat Glitch to escape.
So, did Sega create a meowsterpiece, or does Garfield: Caught in the Act belong in the litter box? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
The controls are pretty standard fare. The D-pad controls movement, the A button is a ranged attack, the B button is a melee attack, the C button jumps, and the Start button pauses the game.
Unfortunately, the gameplay is the weakest part of Garfield: Caught in the Act. The controls aren’t that responsive, for one. Every time you want to turn around, you slide to a halt first. This looks cool because the animation is so good, but in practice, it slows down gameplay rather than adding to it. Other games have handled this concept better, like Super Mario 64.
The hitboxes aren’t very reliable, so you’ll often find yourself swinging at enemies and missing. Also, every time you get hit, you are stunned and lose all momentum. On its own, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but there are places where it’s pretty much impossible to dodge anything, and you’re constantly getting stunned and dropped to the ground or even into holes.
Garfield: Caught in the Act isn’t a complete loss in the gameplay department. The bosses and puzzles are decently fun. It’s a shame, too; if they had polished the rest of the gameplay to be more responsive and less frustrating, it could have been a much better game.
I give the gameplay a 5.5/10.
Graphics
The graphics and animations are fantastic. They purrfectly captured the look and feel of Garfield. This isn’t surprising given that they had Jim Davis to help them directly. He also created the cover and introduction sequence, which makes sense.
A cool feature of the game is that Garfield changes his look in each level. In Count Slobbula, he’s wearing a vampire cloak and uses a torch as a weapon. In one level, you have a pharaoh’s headdress; in another, a fedora, and so on. This gives each level its own unique feel and calls back to various Garfield episodes.
Nearly every game needs a good villain, and Garfield: Caught in the Act has that with Glitch. He’s a digitized 3D model that looks like he would feel at home in the Vectorman series. Since he’s the only digitized 3D model in the game, he has an otherworldly feel. This, alongside his goofy yet menacing design and psychotic laugh, makes for a villain that’s fun and memorable.
I rarely do this, but I give the graphics a 10/10.
Music and Sound
The music is fun and cartoony, which is just right for a Garfield game. It’s not the most memorable music, but everything fits well. So, I’d consider it above average, but not particularly special. I will probably have Glitch’s theme stuck in my head for a bit, but otherwise the music hasn’t stuck with me.
The sound effects are also a great fit for the game. Very cartoony and fun. They really help sell the feeling that you are playing a game based on a cartoon.
I give the music and sound a 7.5/10.
Difficulty
You have 3 lives and 3 continues. There is also a password and checkpoint system.
The game has an awkward difficulty curve, especially in large levels. For example, in Cave Cat 3,000,000 BC, there are a few spots where if you fall, you lose a ton of progress. This, combined with the awkward hitboxes and hit stun, can make for some very frustrating moments. This problem is extremely noticeable at the final boss. By the end, he’s shooting out tons of projectiles, and getting hit by one at a bad moment can send you back to the bottom.
The difficulty can be summed up in one word: annoying.
Final Verdict
I give Garfield: Caught in the Act a 7.5 out of 10. The gameplay is catastrophically mediocre, but the animation alone is worth experiencing. If you’re a Garfield fan or a collector, you might check this one out. The game is currently about $13 loose, which isn’t bad.
