The Kore Gang

Summary

The Kore Gang: Outvasion from Inner Earth is an action-adventure game for the Wii. The game is notable for its very prolonged development cycle over the course of ten years, during which many different companies became involved and the game moved from being designed for the Xbox console to the Wii.

The Kore Gang
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Producer(s)Gustaf Stechmann, Oskar Burman, Christian von Duisburg
Designer(s)Klaus Lyngeled, Jan Richter, Stein Llanos
Programmer(s)Jonas Priebe, Jens Agby
Composer(s)Christian Björklund
Platform(s)Wii
Release
Genre(s)Adventure, Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

In the game, the player takes control of three different characters stuck inside robotic suits that amplify their individual abilities. The gameplay is centered on the player's ability to switch between the three characters at any time and thus utilize and combine their abilities to solve puzzles. The story revolves around the Krank Brothers, evil rulers of a civilization that exists in the center of the Earth. The player, with the help of the three playable characters Pixie, Madboy, and Rex, must stop the Kranks from carrying out their plan to conquer the surface of the planet as well.[3] The plot alludes to the subtitle, "Outvasion from Inner Earth".

After being released in August 2010 in Germany through the now-defunct publisher Pixonauts, general international releases followed through distributors such as Atari.

Plot edit

After a series of earthquakes, a drill-shaped vehicle emerges from the ground, the Krank Tank. It is commanded by the Krank Brothers, who intend to conquer the Earth. Pixie, Madboy and Rex use the Kore Suit, invented by scientist Dr. Samuelsen, to stop the Kranks.

Development edit

The game was originally conceived by designer Klaus Lyngeled, formerly of Shiny Entertainment. He quit his job at Shiny to found his own company, Zoink, in order to be able to work full-time on this project.

Zoink began to develop a version of the game for the Xbox. In 2003, CDV Software obtained the publishing rights,[4] but had to drop the project soon after due to financial difficulties.[5]

In 2006, independent production house Games Foundation obtained a license to further develop the game, and announced a version for the Wii.[6][7]

The PAL version is multi-language and contains English, German, French and Spanish voices-overs.

Reception edit

The game received mixed reviews. Critics such as those for Wiisworld praised the madcap sense of humor and colorful graphics but criticized the clumsy camera control.[13] The game's aggregate score on Metacritic is 70/100.[14]

Alexander Winkel of GameZone gave a game 8.4 out of 10 saying that "Nevertheless, this title is one of the best Wii games and captivates above all with a beautiful art design and a good dose of humor."[15]

Thomas Nickel of Eurogamer had compared the game formula to Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot and Rayman.[16]

Lars Peterke of Nintendo WiiX gave it a score of 8.2 out of 10 and compared it to Mario Galaxy.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ "The Kore Gang Related Games on Wii". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  2. ^ "Kore Gang". Amazon. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  3. ^ Owen Good (2008-08-17). "KORE Resurrected for Wii from '03 Xbox Title". Kotaku. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  4. ^ "News: Core becomes The Kore Gang". GamersHell.com. 2003-03-14. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  5. ^ "The Kore Gang canceled". Gamersyde. 2004-03-15. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  6. ^ "KORE Finds New Life On Wii". eXophase.com. 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  7. ^ Calin Ciabai (2008-05-27). "Cancelled Xbox Game Revived for Wii - Kore is bringing the Krank brothers to Nintendo's console now". Softpedia. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  8. ^ "The Kore Gang". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  9. ^ Neilie Johnson (2011-12-16). "The Kore Gang: Outvasion From Inner Space review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  10. ^ Jason Venter (2011-12-05). "The Kore Gang Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  11. ^ Lucas M. Thomas (2011-12-09). "The Kore Gang Review". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  12. ^ Jacob Crites (2012-01-11). "The Kore Gang Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  13. ^ "Review by Wii's World". wiisworld.com. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  14. ^ "The Kore Gang". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  15. ^ "The Kore Gang: Invasion der Inner-Irdischen" [The Kore Gang: Invasion of the Inner-Earthly]. GameZone (in German). 11 August 2010. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
  16. ^ Thomas Nickel (2010-08-10). "The Kore King" (in German). Eurogamer.de. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  17. ^ Lars Peterke (2010-08-12). "Wii Review 'The Kore Gang: Invasion der Inner-Irdischen'". Nintendowiix.net. Retrieved 2018-05-27.