Software:The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction

From HandWiki
Short description: 2001 video game

The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction
North American box art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)BAM! Entertainment
Director(s)
  • Stewart Waterson
  • Joe Booth
Producer(s)
  • Heidi Behrendt
  • Anne-Christine Gasc
  • Alison Wilson
  • David Mowbray
Designer(s)
  • Jay Rogers
  • Eric Nelson
Programmer(s)
  • Owain Green
Artist(s)
  • David Moss
  • Andrew North
Composer(s)
  • Thomas Chase
  • Steve Rucker
  • James L. Venable
SeriesThe Powerpuff Girls
Platform(s)PlayStation, Nintendo 64
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: November 14, 2001[1]
  • PAL: December 7, 2001
Nintendo 64
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single player

The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction is a fighting game published by BAM! Entertainment for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in 2001. It was based on the Cartoon Network animated series The Powerpuff Girls. The player controls one of the Powerpuff Girls in a variety of one-on-one melee battles against the computer-controlled villains.

Gameplay

The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction is a 3D fighting game in which the player controls one of the Powerpuff Girls (Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup), who must battle enemies in a variety of settings in order to reclaim Chemical X and track down Mojo Jojo. The player can choose from ten playable characters, which consist of The Powerpuff Girls and seven villains.

The game has two modes: story mode (the player can pick up objects and throw them at an enemy to decrease their opponent's health meter and use super-powered attacks by collecting vials of Chemical X) and simulator mode (the player controls a Powerpuff Girl against a villain or a villain against another villain).

Plot

The Powerpuff Girls are baking a pie, to which Bubbles decides to add Chemical X as an ingredient. While the pie is cooling on the windowsill, Mojo Jojo steals it and shares it with Townsville's other villains, including Fuzzy Lumpkins, Big Billy, Ace, Sedusa and Princess Morbucks, empowering them all with Chemical X. Realizing the danger the villains now pose, the girls set out to track them down and beat the Chemical X out of their systems. The Powerpuff Girls eventually defeat Mojo and his allies, but are surprised by the sudden arrival of HIM, who intends to use the Chemical X for himself. The girls defeat HIM, driving him off. Bubbles proposes baking another pie, but Blossom and Buttercup quickly refuse.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(N64) 30%[9]
(PS) 39%[10]
Metacritic30/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer1.5/10[4]
GameZone7/10[3]
IGN2/10[5]
Nintendo PowerStarHalf star[6]
OPM (US)StarHalf star[7]
X-PlayStar[8]

The PlayStation version received "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[11]

Matt Helgeson of Game Informer gave the PS1 version a 1.5 out of 10, calling it "an arena fighter shallow enough to make Ooga Booga look like Final Fantasy Tactics. [...] There are some Shockwave browser games on the Powerpuff Girls website that are better than this, and they're free."[4] Joe Rybicki of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine gave the game a 1.5 out of 5, saying "it's all but impossible to land more than the occasional punch and kick before you get pummeled half to death. The game thus degenerates into pick up object, throw, repeat. Not exactly the most thrilling of experiences."[7] Mark Fujita of IGN gave the PS1 version a 2 out of 10, saying that "if you like the Powerpuff Girls and you buy this game, you will be very disappointed."[5]

A more positive review came from Suzi Sez of GameZone, who gave the PS1 version a 7 out of 10, saying it was "packed full of fast-paced and challenging action that plays out against a brightly colored cartoon backdrop."[3] J.M. Vargas of PSX Nation was more mixed, giving the game a 70% and calling it "a more bearable and slightly-amusing rental for most (and a collector's item for fans of Craig McCracken's irreverent toon). A little pricey at $25-30, but worth checking."[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Powerpuff Girls:Chemical X-Traction Ships" (in en-US). 2012-05-04. https://www.gamezone.com/news/powerpuff_girls_chemical_x_traction_ships/. 
  2. ↑ IGN Staff (2001-11-20). "Two New N64 Games Available" (in en). https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/11/20/two-new-n64-games-available. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Suzi Sez (November 27, 2001). "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction Review - PlayStation". http://psx.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19140.htm. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Helgeson, Matt (November 2001). "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction (PS)". Game Informer (103): 123. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200111/R03.0805.1833.18926.htm. Retrieved January 27, 2017. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fujita, Mark (November 29, 2001). "Power Puff [sic Girls: Chemical X-traction (PS)"]. http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/11/30/power-puff-girls-chemical-x-traction. 
  6. ↑ "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction". Nintendo Power 150: 146. November 2001. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-150-november-2001/page/n77/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rybicki, Joe (December 2001). "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (51): 174. https://archive.org/details/official-us-playstation-magazine-issue-51-december-2001/page/174/mode/2up. 
  8. ↑ Concepcion, Miguel (August 9, 2002). "'[The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction' (PS)"]. X-Play. http://www.techtv.com/extendedplay/reviews/story/0,24330,3395005,00.html. 
  9. ↑ "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction for Nintendo 64". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/n64/532474-the-powerpuff-girls-chemical-x-traction/index.html. 
  10. ↑ "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction for PlayStation". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/565566-the-powerpuff-girls-chemical-x-traction/index.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction" (in en). https://www.metacritic.com/game/the-powerpuff-girls-chemical-x-traction/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. 
  12. ↑ Vargas, J.M.. "Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction". http://www.psxnation.com/reviews/ps1reviews?idnumber=554. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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