Wallace &
Gromit are an interesting bunch. They have oval mouths, claymation-style
animation, silly friends and neighbors, and a cornucopia of odd moments and
strange jokes that only Wallace & Gromit fans understand.
Nonetheless,
the success of Chicken Run made the creators believe that they could piece
together a movie that would appease not just their local fans, but American
viewers as well.
Having had
some success with video games based on the Wallace & Gromit property, it
wasn’t long before a developer began work on a game adaptation of the new
film.
The result
of these developments is Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit, a
strange and quirky story about stopping creepy rabbits from destroying the
world.
I haven’t
seen the movie yet, but from what I can tell the game follows this story very
closely. Your mission starts out with a hole and some herding. Controlling the
dog who does not speak, you chase the rabbits into a group of scared hoppers.
They’ll hop their way into the vacuum hole you’ve dug into the ground, which
sucks them right into your rabbit-safe mobile. They can’t move or escape from
this trap. On the bright side it doesn’t appear to kill the rabbits either. At
least I hope it doesn’t – death should be saved for the game’s creepier
characters.
The game
takes players to several different locations, but most of them involve the
same or similar objectives: get rid of the animals before they get rid of the
vegetables.
One of the
ways of doing that is by using your Luigi’s Mansion-inspired vacuum gun.
Inhale the bunnies (or anything else it has the power to snatch, including the
vegetables you’re trying to protect) and drop them off at the vacuum hole that
leads to your vehicle. Objects can be useful since you may hold them in your
gun and discharge at will, stunning enemies and/or revealing the location of a
hidden animal.
Wallace &
Gromit’s controls are generic at best, feeling a little smooth but not overly
intuitive. I could have done without the automatic target feature that locks
onto important objects. The help is appreciated if I’m clueless, but please
give me the option to release the lock and vacuum the world more freely.
Likewise, the item release feature is purposely weak to avoid being perceived
as a dangerous weapon (the game is being marketed to kids).
Nice lighting, but
I’ve seen the sun come through windows before.
Double jumps
are weird. Most games have the character perform additional animations to
indicate that he or she has somehow defied the laws of gravity. It’s as if
they’ve jumped onto an invisible cloud to launch themselves higher into the
sky. The Curse of the Were-rabbit says otherwise, having the character repeat
the first hop as he is falling.
As far as
the visuals are concerned, the developers re-created the look of the film’s
claymation stars. The polygon models are not without their flaws. Look closely
and you can make out the lines of the wire frame model. Wallace & Gromit’s
environments aren’t too flashy either. However, the game is not ugly; the
visuals do not hurt my eyes; and the vacuum tornado effect is kind of cool. I
wouldn’t recommend playing The Curse of the Were-rabbit after a game of Jak 3,
but overall the graphics are a tad above acceptable. Knowing how bad games can
look I’ll take it.
Oh
look! An explosion! That must constitute excitement.
Wallace &
Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit is a tiresome, repetitive game that won’t
satisfy the needs or desires of the fans. The levels are cramped; the
objectives are boring; and the story segments had almost enough power to put
me to sleep.
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Gameplay: 5.0
Warning: can
cause drowsiness. Herdy Gerdy was the best attempt at a herding
simulator and even it suffered the inexorable fate of turning players off with
repetition.
Graphics: 6.0
Polygon
characters that resemble the stars of the film. Familiar environments, items,
characters, objects – graphically the game nearly achieves its goal of
entertaining players as much as the film is aiming to.
Sound: 5.0
Too many of the
characters and sound effects sound alike. The music isn’t boring but fails to
entertain like a movie game should.
Difficulty: Easy
The enemies
practically turn themselves in. Rabbits hop into holes without putting up a
fight. You may be a winner, but having accomplished these goals so easily
you’ll feel like a loser.
Concept: 6.0
Somewhat of an
animal removal simulator, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit hoped
to succeed where others had failed. Better luck next time
Overall: 5.1
Need a nap? Warm
milk not doing it for ya? Wallace & Gromit have just what you need. Their
latest adventure is a snoozer. Dull combat, no innovative puzzles, no
thought-provoking gameplay. It’s a disappointment like other bland movie
game releases.
