If you or someone you know are still obsessing with Napoleon Dynamite, this might just be the cure.
It was disappointing, because the movie looked so bad it'd be funny (ala Snakes on a Plane). Since then, I've only seen bits and pieces of the movie but unfortunately no laughs have come. So with that in mind, I knew "Napoleon Dynamite: The Game" for the Nintendo DS wasn't going to be very enjoyable. I try to look at a game like a blank canvas with no pre-judgements. However, Napoleon Dynamite is an exception. "Napoleon Dynamite: The Game" is probably the worst game I've ever played on the Nintendo DS. It's tied with Steel Horizon, but that may be going too far. Napoleon Dynamite for the DS does have some slightly entertaining moments, and I mean slightly. Most video games based on movies usually follow the storyline, or take place before/after it. However, Napoleon Dynamite is neither.
The game is essentially 20 mini games (30 on the PSP), and nothing more. You may remember from the movie that Napoleon has awesome skills, such as being a ninja. These are more than likely false, but in the game they're true (or so it tells you). If Napoleon says he has awesome ninja skills, then you'll play a ninja mini game. If he says he acquires awesome bow hunting skills, then by golly, you're gonna play a bow hunting mini game. The same applies for numerous skills he claims to have in the movie.
The mini games are very repetitive, each consisting of about 3 or 4 "rounds", with each round increasing in difficulty (slightly). For instance, there's a mini game in which you must control numerous toys being dragged behind a bus, and your goal is to hit as many things as possible while avoiding holes and animals. As each round passes, the speed increases. Very simple. Very repetitive. My main grievance with the mini games is that if you're at the last round and fail, you have to start all over again.
This isn't to say all the mini games are repetitive. There's one mini game in which you must throw a football further than Uncle Rio. As each round goes on, Uncle Rio's arm seems to get more and more powerful. You tap the screen when you want the arrow to stop moving up and down to set your direction. You then tap it again to adjust how hard you'll throw it. This was one of the better minigames, and reminded me of Yeti Sports.
However, minigames like that are a rarity. Some of them don't even make sense, such as the dodge ball one. Now when I went to school and played dodge ball, it was fairly simple: shirts vs. skins. 15 on one side, 15 on the other. In Napoleon Dynamite, the same basic concept exists except for one minor difference: people on the opposite team standing at the sidelines on your side of the court can also throw dodge balls at you. So, basically, you're surrounded by people who can and will throw balls at you. And just like the other mini games, as each round goes by the opposite team seems to get much better at catching and throwing, while the people on your team get much much worse (everyone is also wearing shirts. No skins.).
Another little annoyance are the subtitles. Reading them is just fine, but when you have an entire box filled with dialog, and then have to press next just to bring up another box with only one word to finish the sentence, it's annoying. The actual dialog itself is almost non-existent, because all it consists of are one-liners from the movie such as "Gosh!', which I grew tired of back in 2004.
In the end, if you or someone you know are still obsessing with Napoleon Dynamite, this might just be the cure. 30 minutes of this and you'll be so sick of Napoleon you'll never want to hear another quote from the movie ever again. If by chance you do give this to a fan, and they find enjoyment in it, then they have some serious issues and should seek medical attention immediately. A free and much better alternative would be Yeti Sports.