Hugo: Bukkazoom!

Did You Know?

• The game's structure was likened by Jeuxvideo.com to Cel Damage, with event types modelled on modes from first-person shooters.
• Absolute Games concluded that Hugo: Bukkazoom! 'fell short of being an interesting game'.
• Namco Hometek's business unit director Jeff Lujan said the company hoped the two titles would be the first of many releases from the partnership.

Gameplay

Hugo: Bukkazoom! shrinks Hugo and his friends down to bug size, where they race insect-shaped karts through oversized countryside arenas. Instead of traditional laps, events unfold in open spaces guided by an on-screen arrow pointing toward the next gate or goal. The championship includes five event types, playable individually or in sequence: a balloon race through moving gates carried by greenflies, a transport challenge to bring five greenflies back to base, a standard gate-to-gate race, a capture-the-balloon mode, and a taxi event delivering greenflies to a set point. Practice modes include free roam and time trial. Power-ups can be collected to hinder rivals and stacked into nine stronger combinations. Nine characters are available, each with a unique kart, though most must be unlocked. The roster includes Hugo, his wife Hugolina, their three children, the witch Scylla, Fernando, Jean-Paul, and Don Croco. The game supports one or two players.

Development and release

Hugo: Bukkazoom! was created by the Danish studio ITE Media, which specialized in interactive TV content. It made an appearance at the 2003 E3 expo. The game came out for PlayStation 2 and Windows in 2003, with the French PS2 release on December 12 of that year. In January 2005, Namco teamed up with ITE Media to bring the title to North America on the Game Boy Advance, alongside Hugo: The Evil Mirror. Bukkazoom! was slated for March 2005 and targeted players twelve and under.