Review
Ah, that mischievous Donald Duck. Always getting into all sorts of crazy fixes that cause his white-hot temper to boil over... always letting loose with a tirade of chirps and gasps that would certainly turn children's' ears blue if they could understand what he was saying. We've loved him in cartoons for years, and now he's popped up in the world of games again, this time on a title that just happens to be the first 3D platform game for the PlayStation 2.
It's not a traditional 3D platform game like Banjo-Kazooie or Spyro the Dragon, though. While Disney's Goin' Quackers is all about action, it plays more like a 2D platform title set in a 3D world (similar to Crash Bandicoot). The truth of the matter is that, while it fails to innovate to any great degree, Goin' Quackers manages to distinguish itself as an entertaining, if not deep, title for the new system.
The gameplay is extremely straightforward, and essentially plays the same whether you're in the side-scrolling or forward-backward levels. You find enemies, rough them up by swatting them, and jump over various obstacles and pits as you make your way to the end of the level, where sometimes there's a boss to fight, and sometimes not. Doesn't sound terribly exciting, does it? And that's what's funny about Goin' Quackers... the gameplay is simplistic, fairly repetitive, and yet there are plenty of little touches that keep it from languishing in mediocrity.
The game does offer plenty of secret levels, although the "secrets" are essentially for getting Donald Duck new outfits. And Donald Duck has plenty of secret moves, but many of them aren't that effective, and you'll probably stick to one or two that really perform well. So what is it that's so compelling about the game? It's probably just the ease of play and quick-paced action. The game moves so fast it's sometimes hard to remember that it is, in many ways, indistinct. Combine that with the comical theme and fowl-mouthed hero wandering around, and you just have a recipe for a good time.
Donald Duck is the star of the game, and here, the star looks great. On the PlayStation 2, he is wonderfully animated, maybe better than in many of the classic cartoons he's appeared in. He exudes personality, wanders the screen in his trademark style, and just moves perfectly -- especially when he gets mad, flailing around and yelling in his trademark gibberish. But the rest of the cast looks great as well, and sounds great with distinct voices you'll recognize from cartoons past.
And that's the real star of this game: its personality. Even if it's an easy, competent game, it won't bother you while you're playing it because everything is so darned fun. Once it's over, it's pretty much over, but for the ride, everything goes so smoothly that you can't help but stay on board. Goin' Quackers is a nice little trip, although one would certainly hope that more advanced, complicated, and well-designed platform games show up on the system in the months ahead. For now, though, Donald will do.
Graphics 
While the look of the levels is slightly bland, Donald's animation is great, and there are a lot of neat visual tricks that show what the PS2 can do for slightly average titles.
Sound
The typical Disney whimsy is included in the sound package, and the voices of the various characters in the game sound wonderful.
Enjoyment
Sure, it's perfectly generic in many ways, but has a sense of style, quickness, and enjoyment about it that's almost hard to describe. It's a fun game from start to finish.
Replay Value 
While there are some decent secrets hidden in the game, in the end they all add up to some extra costumes for Donald.
Documentation
The document is colorful, and has information on most aspects of the game.
