Ben 10: Protector of Earth

Ben 10: Protector of Earth
Ben 10: Protector of Earth
Developer(s)	High Voltage Software (Wii, PS2, and PSP), 1st Playable Productions (DS)
Publisher(s)	D3 Publisher
Engine	Quantum3
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS
Release	PSP, PS2, NDS; ASIA: November 5, 2007; ; Wii;
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game

Ben 10: Protector of Earth is a video game based on the American animated television series Ben 10. The game was released in North America on October 30, 2007, and in Europe on November 9, 2007. The European Wii version was not released until November 30, 2007.

Plot

At the start of the game, a mosquito-like drone extracts much of the DNA from the Omnitrix, leaving only Fourarms and Heatblast on the watch. Ben finds that the stolen DNA is being used to power various robots in the form of Omnitrix Crystals, and in destroying these robots he regains some of his alien forms. Ben regains XLR8 after defeating the first boss.

Ben later finds Vilgax's drones and the Forever Knights fighting. Enoch is building a mech using technology from Area 51 in an attempt to stop Vilgax; and though he is also trying to save the world, he isn't willing to let the Tennysons help. By defeating Enoch's mech, Ben regains Cannonbolt.

In San Francisco, Ben learns that Kevin escaped from the Null Void and brought some plant creatures along. Kevin 11 kidnaps Max and escapes to the Lumber Mill, where Ben defeats him. Kevin 11 is then drawn in the Null Void again. Ben tracks down and defeats the mother plant in Seattle, after which Ben regains Wildvine.

In outer space, Vilgax and Ghostfreak are working together, the latter having released Vilgax from the Null Void. Ben, Gwen, and Max find out about Ghostfreak after defeating an overshadowed Hex. They also learn that he plundered the Plumber's base. Ben fights Ghostfreak at the Navy Pier, and is then locked in the Null Void by Max. Ben finds another Omnitrix Crystal which unlocks the first part of the Master Control (called Hero Control, which allows five quick transformations in a row, but the energy isn't unlimited and drains as the player as usual).

Ben finds out about Doctor Animo using the Alien DNA to create a mutant army. Ben fights them, but Doctor Animo manages to kidnap Gwen. After defeating Clancy (who works for Doctor Animo), they receive a hint about Gwen's location. They reach an oil platform, where Ben encounters Doctor Animo. Ben defeats him and saves Gwen. He also regains another Omnitrix crystal, which unlocks the next and last part of the Master control. During her imprisonment, Gwen learned that Doctor Animo works for Vilgax. She also learned that Vilgax wants to draw the entire planet in the Null Void.

Max and Gwen try to warn the government, while Ben deals with Sixsix and Vilgax's troops. Max then makes a space vehicle out of the Rust Bucket. They encounter Vilgax in his own ship. Ben then defeats Vilgax in a battle and ejects him into outer space. After that, Ben, Gwen and Max recover the last pieces of the Omnitrix. The Tennysons escape and the Null Void portal draws Vilgax and his ship inside, injuring his body in the progress. The Tennysons then head back to Earth.

As Vilgax is repaired by his nanobots in the Null Void, he swears that he will return someday. The last area is the Null Void where Ben fights all of his enemies twice. In the final scene, Gwen tells Ben how impressed she is. Max looks for a way out of the void. In the secret challenge, Ben fights Enoch, Kevin 11, Clancy and Sixsix again.

Gameplay

In the beginning, Ben can stay an alien for a limited amount of time, but after defeating some bosses, Ben unlocks more powers for his aliens and even unlocks the master code, meaning he can stay alien for an infinite amount of time or switch between aliens without draining Omnitrix energy. Attack combos can be unlocked collecting Omnitrix points. Limited power boosts or invincibility can be gathered, as well as bonuses to make the Omnitrix recharge faster. Three Sumo Slammer cards are hidden in each main level, and once collected unlock features, such as movie clips.

After each level, Plumber ranks are rewarded, depending on how fast the player beats that level. If the player gets an A rank, you get a character view, usually a boss or a villain. In the main boss levels, a God of War styled button sequence allows players to execute a special attack at certain points.

Characters/Aliens

Ben Tennyson
Fourarms
Heatblast
XLR8
Cannonbolt
Wildvine
Upchuck (DS with a code)
Gwen (DS with a code)
Grandpa Max (PS2 with a code) (NPC)

Bosses

Giant Vilgax Destroyer (not on DS)
Enoch
Armortron Crusader
Kevin 11
The Motherplant
Hex (possessed by Ghostfreak)
Ghostfreak
Clancy
Dr. Animo
Six Six
Vilgax

Enemies

Vilgax Drone (Blue, Small, Insect like)
Laser Drone (Red Vilgax Drone)
Vilgax Hunter (Green Miniature Vilgax Destroyer)
Forever Knight (Knight with Face Mask)
Armed Knight (Forever Knight with Energy Sword)
Laser Knight (Forever Knight with Energy Staff)
Shielded Knight (Forever Knight with Shield and Sword)
Forever Guardian (Shielded Knight with Energy Staff, Excluding the Sword)
Forever Champion (Giant Blue Knight with Energy Mace)
Forever Champion Elite (Forever Champion with Shield)
Photon Drone (White Vilgax Drone with Photon Array)
Vilgax Sniper (Red Vilgax Hunter with Energy Daggers)
Shielded Hunter (White Vilgax Hunter with Shield)
Thornhound (Beast-like Monster with no eyes and sharp teeth)
Thornhound Aggressor (Thornhound with Purple face)
Thornhound Crusher (Thornhound with Yellow face)
Maceroot (Giant Cactus Monster)
Wildcat (Bobcat spliced with Wildmutt)
Wildcat Aggressor (Black Wildcat)
Stinksnake (Snake spliced with StinkFly)
Stinksnake Striker (Red Stinksnake shoots burning venom)
Crystal Claws (Bear Spliced with Diamond Head)
Werewolf (Benwolf alien)
Werewolf Screamer (White Werewolf)
Ghostwolf (Werewolf overshadowed by Ghostfreak, glowing Purple Note: Only appears in Ghostfreak Boss Battle)
Mummy (Benmummy alien)
Cyclone Mummy (Black Mummy with beak-like helmet)
Ghost Mummy (Mummy overshadowed by Ghostfreak, glowing Purple Note: Only appears in Ghostfreak Boss Battle)
Viktor
Frankenghost (Viktor overshadowed by Ghostfreak, glowing Purple Note: Only appears in Ghostfreak Boss Battle)
Vilgax Guard (Humanoid with 4 eyes, flies)
Detrovite (Giant orange Monster, spikes on chin)
Detrovite Beserker (Detrovite with Drill hand)

Levels

Note: In each zone, there is a short level (with a secret challenge), one or two levels without a boss and specific enemies, one or two levels with a boss in the end and specific enemies, and a level with only a boss and no enemies. Note that the Grand Canyon is the only level with enemies and a mini game (button sequence) boss. Normally these bosses only appear on the last level of an area, before the secret challenge.

Southwest

Grand Canyon (Giant Vilgax Destroyer) (Vilgax Drones and Hunters) Note: Ben unlocks XLR8 in this level.
Mesa Verde (Knights and Drones)
Area 51 (Enoch) (Knights and some Drones)
Hoover Dam (Armotron Crusader) (No Enemies) Note: Ben unlocks Cannonbolt in this level
Meteor Crater (Drones and Knights) (Secret Challenge))

Northwest

San Francisco (Drones and Hunters)
Lumber Mill (Kevin 11) (Plant Monsters and Drones)
Crater Lake (Plant Monsters and Drones)
Seattle (The Motherplant) (No Enemies) Note: Ben unlocks Wildvine in this level
Yellowstone (Plant Monsters and brief Drones)

Midwest

Effigy Mounds (Hex (possessed by Ghostfreak)) (Anur Realm Monsters and some Drones)
Plumber Base (Anur Realm Monsters and Drones)
Chicago Lake Front (Anur Realm Monsters)
Gold Coast Theater (Ghostfreak) (Anur Realm Monsters (Possessed by Ghostfreak)) Note: Ben unlocks Hero Control in this level.
Mount Rushmore (Anur Realm Monsters)

Southeast

Historic Battlefield (Animo Mixtures and Drones)
Bayou (Clancy) (Animo Mixtures)
New Orleans (Animo Mixtures)
Oil Refinery (Dr. Animo) (No Enemies) Note: Ben unlocks Master Control on this level
Riverboat (Animo Mixtures and Drones)

East Coast

Washington D.C. (Anur Realm Monsters, Drones, and Brainwashed Vilgax Minions)
Cape Canaveral (Six Six) (Drones and Brainwashed Vilgax Minions)
The Merciless (Vilgax) (No Enemies)
The Null Void (Enoch, Kevin 11, Clancy and Six Six in the secret challenge)(Drones, Plant Monsters, Anur Realm Monsters, Knights, and Brainwashed Vilgax Minions)

Reception

Critical reception has been mainly average. IGN awarded 6.8 out of 10, commenting that the cel-shaded graphics, simple gameplay and on-the-fly saving suits the target demographic but was unable to recommend it for hardcore gamers.^[1] Eurogamer gave 5 out of 10, highlighting the drop-in drop-out two player mode and decent cutscenes, but criticising the bland environments.^[2]

Voices

Voice	Actor
Ben Tennyson	Tara Strong
Max Tennyson	Paul Eiding
Gwen Tennyson	Meagan Smith
Fourarms	Richard McGonagle
Heatblast Vilgax Ghostfreak	Steven Blum
XLR8 Wildvine	Jim Ward
Forever Knight Cannonbolt	Fred Tatasciore
Enoch	Richard Doyle
Kevin 11	Charlie Schlatter
Radio Announcer Dr. Animo	Dwight Schultz
Clancy	Nicholas Guest

References

^ Bozon (November 14, 2007). "IGN: Ben 10: Protector of Earth Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-13. Ben 10 sets out to do nothing more than provide some basic, two-button action, and it succeeds in doing just that.
^ Ellie Gibson (20 December 2007). "Kids' Game Roundup Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-04-13. That sums up Ben 10: Protector of Earth, really: it works well enough. There's nothing here to appeal to adults, or anyone who isn't a Ben 10 fan. But if you know one of those, this is a great present.

External links

[1] Bozon (November 14, 2007). "IGN: Ben 10: Protector of Earth Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-13. Ben 10 sets out to do nothing more than provide some basic, two-button action, and it succeeds in doing just that.

[2] Ellie Gibson (20 December 2007). "Kids' Game Roundup Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2009-04-13. That sums up Ben 10: Protector of Earth, really: it works well enough. There's nothing here to appeal to adults, or anyone who isn't a Ben 10 fan. But if you know one of those, this is a great present.

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