24-Aug-2005 To produce a 'sequel' to The Nightmare Before Christmas and not make it a musical would be a little like an E.T. follow-up where he lays chest-bursting eggs in Elliot's throat. It wouldn't work. Fortunately, Oogie's Revenge is exactly that - a fully blown, rip-roaring celebration of song and dance, packed with the kind of foot-tapping showtunes that made the film so iconic. The fact the characters sing their way through the entire game, narrating in rhyming couplets the whys and wherefores of Oogie's monstrous revenge, instantly gives the impression that this isn't just a cheap brand cash-in. It really is something of a semisequel, albeit in videogame form.
Jack Skellington, having returned from his travels to the various holiday world dimensions, finds Oogie has renamed Halloween Town 'Oogie Town'. In his demented attempts to make Halloween 'scarier', he's also created an army of ghosts and skeletons that will wilfully hurt (and probably sing to) anyone that crosses them.
Armed with an ectoplasmic whip (we're not sure how happy Tim Burton would be with that idea), Jack goes to town, musically whipping into shape any of Oogie's ghoulies, much like an undead Indiana Jones. He can whip bad guys away, or lasso them in and use them to smash other enemies to bits. He's very resourceful, you know. But the real strength is Jack's ability to put his adventuring to song. When he's under the spotlight belting out a tune, no-one can stop him.
After whacking enemies, Jack can pick up the musical notes that fall from their bodies. The more of these he scavenges, the quicker his music meter fills up - once it's full, it's the cue to kick into song and wallop all in sundry with Jack's voice. Jack can rapidly decrease his enemy's energy by following a series of Dancing Stage-style beats correctly - with every beat he gets right, the more pain he subsequently lays down on Oogie and his horrible cohorts.
Jack won't stop there, though. If he's not singing or whipping, he can assume various disguises to get the better of Oogie. His Santa Jack and Pumpkin King personas are both bursting with surprises. The Pumpkin King can spit fireballs at people, sending them up into a plume of smoke, while Santa Jack can drop exploding presents to put his pursuers off, a few skills that'll undoubtedly impress love interest Sally, not to mention the rest of the cast, who are returning too.
Like we say, this isn't just a flimsy tie-in - this is the return of a world loved by many, and the chance to actually play as the skeletal sex symbol himself.
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