Atomic Betty (video game)
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- Mike Kasprzak (technical)
- Mark Maia (creative)
- Claudette Critchley (lead)
- Vedran Klanac
| Atomic Betty | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art featuring three of the main protagonists: Sparky, Betty, and X-5 | |
| Developers | |
| Publishers | |
| Directors |
|
| Programmers |
|
| Artist | Jeff Edwards |
| Composer | Tomislav Slogar |
| Platform | Game Boy Advance |
| Release | |
| Genres | Puzzle, Action |
| Mode | Single-player |
Atomic Betty is a 2005 puzzle action video game developed by Big Blue Bubble and Breakthrough New Media and published by Namco Hometek for the Game Boy Advance. Based on the Canadian animated television series by the same name, the game takes place both on Earth and in space. The player controls five characters from the show to defeat the villain Maximus IQ.
The developers aimed to include fan-favorite characters with a focus on teamwork. Atomic Betty was promoted at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo and had a sweepstakes giveaway after its release in North America. The next year, Atari released the game in Europe through a new partnership with Namco Bandai.
Critical reception to the game was mixed. Praise focused on the visuals and the easy-to-pick-up gameplay, which was often compared to the 1993 puzzle-platform game The Lost Vikings. Common criticism included the limited audio and gameplay that was geared towards a younger audience and lacked replay value.
Atomic Betty is a single player puzzle action game based on the animated television series originally produced by Atomic Cartoons, featuring the titular Betty and her Earth friends, Noah and Paloma, as well as her space crew, Sparky and X-5.[2][3] Betty must thwart the evil plans of the story's space villain, Maximus I.Q., while contending with the machinations of Betty's bully classmate Penelope on Earth.[3][4] Stages are set both in Betty's school on Earth and in space.[2][3]
During stages, the player navigates environmental puzzles to reach stage objectives by switching between Betty and her two companions.[3][4] In addition to basic directional movements and jumping, each character has a special skill that is needed to overcome select obstacles in the stages.[2][3] For example, Paloma is able to traverse under objects and X-5 can use a jetpack to fly.[2] Betty can use gadgets that grant special abilities; new gadgets become available as the player progresses through the space worlds. Additionally, the end of each game world features a boss battle.[3] Between stages, cutscenes provide details about the story.[4] Atomic Betty also includes action-based gameplay segments throughout the game: ship mode and minigames. Ship mode has the player navigating Betty's spaceship while avoiding asteroids and attacking enemies. Minigames will occur as the player completes small objectives in stages and include shooting a basketball into a hoop and navigating X-5 through computer themed obstacles.[2][3][4]
Development and release
Development was handled by Big Blue Bubble, a development team consisting of former employees at DICE Canada.[5] Breakthrough New Media, a division of the animated show's production company, Breakthrough Films & Television, helped develop the game.[3][6] Mike Kasprzak and Mark Maia were the game's respective technical and creative directors. Claudette Critchley and Vedran Klanac programmed the game while Jeff Edwards created its artwork. The music was composed by Tomislav Slogar.[3] The development team included fan-favorite characters in the game and aimed to use the characters' special skills in unique ways. Teamwork in overcoming obstacles and opponents was also a focus for the gameplay.[5]
In April 2005, Namco Hometek, the North American division of Japanese video game publisher Namco, announced that they would publish Atomic Betty in November of that year.[7][8] The game was showcased at E3 2005 in May. Representatives were present promoting the game at the preshow event,[5][9] and a single-level demonstration was available to play at the convention event.[10] To help market the game, Namco released screenshots on August 8, 2005, ahead of the scheduled release.[11] Atomic Betty went gold on October 11, 2005.[12]
Although the title was originally scheduled to be released in November 2005, it was released a month earlier in October.[5][12] The release coincided with the animated show receiving two nominations for the 20th Gemini Awards.[13] After the release, Namco announced a sweepstakes with Nintendo to further promote the game. Prizes included a week-long Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and copies of Atomic Betty as well as prize packs that consisted of a Game Boy Micro and the game. The sweepstakes website also included an online challenge game.[6] In May 2006, Atari Europe announced that it entered a publishing deal with Namco Bandai to release several Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS titles in Europe, including Atomic Betty. These titles were planned for release in summer 2006.[1][14] The title was eventually released in Europe on August 25, 2006.[15]