Naughty Bear is a new IP from Artificial Mind and Movement and 505 Games. Could this title make it fun playing as cuddly bears, or does the stuffing just fall all over the place? Find out in our in-depth review.

If you are thinking this game is a little weird, you aren’t the only one. The game’s story is completely strange. You play a teddy bear that is out for revenge after not being invited to a birthday party. This is the premise of the entire game. Players are awarded points for frightening the inhabitants of Paradise Island. The more unique the scares or carnage you do the more points you get. You can also chain together scares for higher point scores. If you become hidden from inhabitants, the chain multiplier disappears. Naughty Bear is divided into 7 episodes each with a different objectives and sub-activities. The games main draw is that players are tasked with causing as much Teddy Bear violence as possible. The only difference is the challenges that each episodes has. Sometimes players will have amass a large amount of points, others times players can't be spotted. These little challenges are the only thing that helps break up the teddy bear massacre.

The environments in Naughty Bear have a very distinct look to them. The different places you can visit all have a classic storyboard look to them. Players will also encounter many different types of bears to cause violence too, including Police Bears, Ninjas, Zombies, and other bears with different colors and looks. Teddy Bears don't bleed when harmed, but if the game did include blood it would show parents this is no cuddly title. Players can hide in trees that turn transparent and wait for a bear to come by and scare them. Players can attract bears and cause them to fall for traps you set. There is some variety on how you can kill each of the different inhabitants of the island. There are also weapons from bats to Uzi's players can use. Brutal kills animations that can be performed when the teddy bears are doing their general duties. If you are unseen players can sabotage different items from cars, electrical items and more. Bears will come and see what happened and try and fix those now broken items. This leaves the bear open for scaring or just plain killing. If you continue to scare the bear enough that bear will take their own lives giving you more points. This is a strange and somewhat disturbing game mechanic.

While Naughty Bear can feature some really entertaining moments, it isn’t without flaws. Naughty Bear’s sound design is kind of spotty. While the announcer sounds great and the humor he spills during the game works, but after awhile the announcer can wear thin. The other sound effects are basic squeaks and repeating music tracks. The sound design will make you want to turn the sound down or off completely after a few hours of game time. Also, the camera can cause players some headaches sticking and giving you bad angles to see around. The camera issue really comes up when you are chasing another bear into a house.

Another problem is that from episode to episode the environment is the same. If the game offered more variety then just the same basic tropical environment. Snowy arctic settings or even desert areas would add to the games diversity. Another point against the game is it only lasts around six to seven hours. There is little reason to replay levels if you don't care about points. There is multiplayer gameplay but their isn't anyone playing and the modes are simple rehashing of modes you played in other games. While Naughty Bear received a Teen rating, the violence is a little strange. Naughty Bear could have been this generations Conker's Bad Fur Day, but ends up more like a fur ball a teddy bear coughed up. This game might just be the game you hide in your library between copies of Gears 2 and Little Big Planet, playing the game when others aren't around. The game needed to be a download Xbox Live title. Overall, the game has some enjoyable parts, but it doesn’t justify the $50 price tag. Hopefully 505 Games releases some (free) DLC to justify the high price point.

C+

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