If the Iron
Chef competition could accept rodents, Remy would be a prime contender. He knows
food better than anyone. With his skills and talent, he’s able to turn any item
into the most talked about dish on the table. In Ratatouille, the console
adaptation of Pixar’s hit movie, players are told to re-enact Remy’s greatest
moments. You’ll visit the sewers, explore the streets of Paris, and stop
Linguini from ruining a pot of soup.
Knowing that
the movie’s length is just under two hours, the developers were ready to fill
out the remaining moments. Hence the addition of combat (a tail-swipe attack),
explosive vegetables (chili peppers), interactive chase sequences, and a
coin-collecting system that turns the game into a scavenger hunt. This is common
stuff for an action/adventure. Still, fans of the movie do have some reasons to
proceed – and a few to run in the opposite direction.
Pixar
Charm
The
PlayStation 3 version of Ratatouille is essentially a port of the Xbox 360
version released in June. Did the extra development time make a difference? If
you’ve played the game before, you won’t be overwhelmed.
Remy, the
brilliant chef and star of the film, more closely resembles his CG iteration on
PlayStation 3 than he did on Wii or PlayStation 2. The fur textures are great.
It’s hard to tell if his body is comprised of individual hairs or one large
clump, but it looks like the former. The artists, animators and programmers have
done a terrific job of making him move like his movie star counterpart, while
additional animations fit right in with the existing move set. Background
details are more defined, with high-res textures and brighter colors that make
the game look sharp on any screen.
The voice
work hasn’t changed but its quality is still worth noting. As with the original
Cars game, all of the film’s actors were a part of this project. Since
Ratatouille’s game storyline is close to the movie, you won’t hear as many new
lines as were featured in the Cars game (which was a continuation of the film,
not a retelling of the same story). But everything sounds good. The voice-overs
and quirky sound effects are improved by a mesmerizing soundtrack, courtesy of
Lost and Medal of Honor composer Michael Giacchino.
His past work has been very distinct and memorable and this score is no
different. You will find yourself humming the title screen theme, which, like
the rest of the music, appears in the film at some point.
The
downside, however, is that none of these elements, no matter how stunning, are
able to push the game into PlayStation 3 territory. Overall, Ratatouille looks
good. But if you take out its current-gen competitors, which are far less
attractive, the only action/adventure to compare it to is Ratchet & Clank.
Ratchet’s rich, near-movie-quality visuals win hands down.
Infestation Plantation
Ratatouille’s gameplay is a mix of the expected and uninvited. Coins, the
primary collectible in this game, work as Ratatouille’s achievement pieces.
They’re obtained in two ways: by scavenging and by completing missions. Missions
take many forms and range from level-integrated (ex: find a chess piece and
return it to the board to unlock a coin) to level bonuses (mix ingredients with
Linguini, run away from a villain, etc.).
There are
also mini-games that are playable within the main quest (and once unlocked, from
the main menu) for increased replayability. The objectives aren’t that
surprising: collect coins, roll over bugs, etc. One has Remy scurrying up the
side of a large cylinder, which will no doubt remind players of the mother of
all action/adventure, Super Mario Galaxy. These mini-games are a lot like those
featured in Fuzion Frenzy, so if you’re a fan of that game, this is something to
look forward to.
Remy’s
controls, while far from perfect, are mostly smooth. Players will be able to run
around, double-jump, and climb walls and wires without any technical
difficulties. However, you will have problems with the camera, which is very
defiant and makes even the simplest task a chore. You’ll also have problems with
the levels themselves. Not all poles, walls, ropes or wires may be climbed on or
walked across. The game defines those that may be used for navigation with a
faint blue highlight.
Since the
highlight is hard to see, you have to get close before it’s visible, and because
the game is selective in applying climbable areas, you’ll come to many that will
appear to be helpful and walk away disappointed once the truth is revealed. I
suppose there’s no sense in making every wall useful, but why not half of them?
Why have only one path (two at best) to every pile of boxes that must be
climbed? It might extend the length of certain levels (because players can’t go
wherever they please), but it also sends players down a strict path.
Given that
these issues are left over from the Xbox 360 edition, the PS3 version of
Ratatouille is a game that diehard fans will want to check out if they haven’t
already done so on another console.
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Gameplay: 6.7
Ratatouille is a
moderately entertaining (and exasperating!) game that could have been
unforgettable.
Graphics:
7.0
The graphics look
good until you compare them to other PS3 games. Then they’re barely average.
Sound: 9.0
Great voice
acting, an excellent score, and fun sound effects make Ratatouille one of the
better-sounding games of the year.
Difficulty: Easy
The most
challenging objective: the camera!
Concept: 6.5
Pulled from the
previous versions, Ratatouille doesn’t visit any new places on PS3.
Multiplayer: 6.7
A solid set of
mini-games for the party game crowd.
Overall: 6.7
The technical
issues that held back the previous versions were somewhat excusable during the
summer. Movie games are often rushed to meet a specific release date. But this
version was held until fall, giving the developers time to remove the said
problems. At least, that’s how those extra months should have been spent. There
must have been another reason for the delay, because the game is not much
different from the Xbox 360 version.
