If you like watching a lot of TV, (and what kid doesn't?), then you know how important it is not to miss your favorite shows. Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown explores the frustration of television problems when the finale of Timmy's favorite show, Captain Nebula, is interrupted by static. As you would expect, Timmy calls on the only two people he knows to fix his TV problem- his Fairly Odd Parents, Cosmo and Wanda. Together, these two goldfish-who-are-really fairies, attempt to use their magic powers to restore Timmy's television so he can finish watching show. Unfortunately, their magic is out of order, and so they bring Timmy with them to Fairy World to explore the problem. After a lengthy tutorial, in which Timmy learns how to jump, run, push objects, and collect stars for wishing, he and his Fairly Odd Parents head to Fairy World to get their powers back and fix his television. However, upon entering Fairy World, they encounter tough-guy Jorgen von Strangle (a funny version of Arnold Schwarzenegger), who informs them that all of the fairies have lost their powers because the Royal Jewel has been stolen. Jorgen von Strangle asks them to join him in an attempt to get the Royal Jewel back, and they head off to accomplish a number of things.

The game continues, following one basic premise- Timmy must collect wishing stars. When he has three, he can wish for whatever item will help him get closer to his goal of finding the Royal Jewel. A lot of time is spent chasing wishing stars around the Fairy World, and those little buggers are hard to catch! They bounce as you get close to them, moving ever so slightly out of your reach. You must sprint after them in order to catch them. At times, the wishing stars are in unreachable places, and so you must push nearby boxes closer so you can jump on them to get to the stars. Once you have three, you have a limited amount of wishes you can make, since wishing stars only have a small amount of power. Therefore, making a big wish, like wishing for Timmy's TV to be fixed, won't work, but wishing for a tool to help you with the task at hand, will. As the player, you don't have to think too much about what to wish for, because Cosmo and Wanda are there to help you out. They will suggest what you should wish for, and help you along your way. To give an example of a typical mission, in the first level, Cosmo, Wanda, and Timmy notice that all of the clubs have been ripped from the playing cards stacked strategically around Fairy World. After collecting his three wishing stars, Timmy wishes for a contraption with will help restore the clubs to the cards. He gets his wish, and must collect the clubs that are jumping around in the center of town, and bring them to the playing cards so they can be restored to their rightful place.

Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown is an easy game to play. There is a lot to do, but Wanda and Cosmo are by your side the entire time to help guide you to the proper tasks. The controls are very easy to learn, and there is a little icon on the screen each time you must use something, so you never forget which button to press in order to activate a wish. The animation in the game looks very much like the TV show, so fans will be pleased. Fairy World is a colorful place with bright pinks and purples, and lots of nooks and crannies to explore. The voices are true to the show, and if you don't mind the voices of Cosmo and Wanda, you'll enjoy them a lot. The only complaint with this game is that the characters talk a lot, and there are dialogue boxes to accompany everything they say. Unlike in most games, you cannot speed through the dialogue boxes, so you spend a lot of time reading and listening to conversation, which can get a little boring for quick readers.

All in all, Fairly Odd Parents: Shadow Showdown is a great game for fans of the TV show, or for gamers just looking for a good time completing missions and keeping busy!

Our Final ScoreGood

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