• ID = PS0368
• STYLE = 3D Platform
• DEV. = Core Design Ltd.
• PUB. = Eidos Interactive
• R-DATE = Mar-07-2002
• ESRB = E / For Everyone
• PLAYERS = 1 player
• LIST PRICE = $29.99
  

Gerdy, an apprentice herder, embarks on an epic quest to revive his father from an evil spell. His journey takes him across an island populated by an assortment of wild creatures. To defeat his father's nemesis and restore goodness to the island, Gerdy must hone his herding skills and ultimately compete in a magnificent tournament to name the Master Herder.

You must master the complex relationships between the wild inhabitants, Gerdy's herding techniques, and different environmental elements. You will control 12 unruly island species, each with its own intellect, personality, and behavior patterns. Solve puzzles, manage resources, and employ a high level of strategic thinking to manipulate the various creatures. Immerse yourself in a living, breathing world with lush graphics, incredibly fluid animation, and an unparalleled level of detail.

Explore 27 expansive environments filled with more than 200 nonplayer characters. You will experience absorbing, continuous gameplay without load times, and will appreciate the detailed character skin and bone structures of the characters, a complex lighting system, and a seamless blend of natural-looking animation and control. Along the way, you must acquire tools, guidance, and experience from key nonplayer characters by winning challenges and successfully completing side quests.

Description 2:
While Eidos is best known for introducing gamers to the adventuring lifestyle of Lara Croft in the historic TOMB RAIDER series, the company has taken a new direction with HERDY GERDY for the PlayStation 2. You play Gerdy, a young man who must embark on a quest to break a magic spell cast on his father. To do so, you’ve got to win a herding competition staged in your homeland.

In your country, herders are held in high regard, and every four years a competition is held to select a new ruler. You’ll discover more than 200 types of creatures to herd, although only 12 are suitable for herding. While it may sound simple, you’ll have to herd the creatures according to their likes, dislikes, and fears so if you’ve got two creatures that fear each other, you’re going to have a problem. If you’re able to win the competition, you just might be able to save your father.

• You’re Gerdy
• You must break the spell that your father is under.
• Win the herding competition and free your father.
• Each creature has likes, dislikes, and fears you must take into account.

Amazon.co.uk
Herdy Gerdy is set on an idyllic island populated by an assortment of weird and wonderful creatures. You play as Gerdy, a young boy whose father has been put under a sleeping spell on the day he was to compete in the island's annual herding tournament. Gerdy has to win the tournament to save him. Each part of his journey to the tournament consists of a level that contains an amount of doops, bleeps, and other bizarre wildlife that has to be herded into appropriate pens. Once the required quotas are reached, the next level is unlocked.

All this is made difficult by the island's predators who feed on the smaller creatures, requiring you to keep them apart, though helpful items can be obtained from the various stereotypical game characters that you come across to aid you in your quest. The locations are lovingly created in cel-shaded splendor and look fantastic. The opening levels consist of lush meadows filled with chirping insects and butterflies before moving on to snowy mountains and desert towns. Each contains a hundred bells that can unlock cheats to further longevity when collected.

Herdy Gerdy's main drawback is its camera, which lurches around and often gets lodged behind scenery; this is especially frustrating when you are trying to lure something into a trap or maneuver it through narrow passages, as the camera zooms in directly behind Gerdy, making it difficult to see what lies ahead. This, coupled with some torturous loading times, really flaws an otherwise impressive game. With so much going for it, though, anyone armed with the requisite patience could overlook these faults and have an enjoyable gaming experience. --Jonathan Winter