So far, nobody basing a game on an animated show has managed to make the spin-off as anarchic and oddball-smart as the source material. Shovelware spun off from The Simpsons swipes mechanics from popular games like Grand Theft Auto or Crazy Taxi. The Futurama game was a missed opportunity, considering how frequently the show referred to old-school classics like Donkey Kong and Berzerk. At first glance, Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am seems like it's going to tap into the show's antagonistic brilliance. The game doesn't contain any zombies or ninjas, but the unpredictability stops with the stunt title. The rest of the game is a workable hybrid of a golfing simulator and a kart racer. The game's one clever bit of design comes in making players find their balls after whacking them across the course.
As Frylock and Master Shake navigate the pre-apocalyptic New Jersey landscape, various enemies from the series must be fended off with an array of zany weapons. Like most games based on animation, Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Zombie Ninja Pro-Am undermines its source material's tone by injecting too much action. On TV, the shows are usually 15-minute bouts of bickering punctuated by random acts of violence. Even the underappreciated Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters knew better than to try forcing Hollywood-style chase sequences. The game is a constant string of fights and races that interrupt whatever slow-burning humor the writers and voice actors attempted to kindle.
Beyond the game: There are four full-length Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes on the game disc, including one that never aired. They're all funnier than the game.
Worth playing for: The Cybernetic Ghost Of Christmas Past provides color commentary at the beginning of each golf hole. His lines are some of the game's few laugh-out-loud moments.
Frustration sets in when: The Mooninites' Quad Laser is obviously overpowered. The show's running gag is that their low-res bullets take forever to hit their target. In the game, they actually zoom toward you, killing the joke in a lame attempt to add challenge.
Final judgment: Not half as bad, apparently, as the new Simpsons game.