I have to admit it; I’m a sucker for Pixar movies. I’ve seen every movie released and have watched most of their
short films. It seems Pixar can do no wrong when it comes to making movies.
Their movies appeal to the young and old by making the youngsters laugh and the
adults cry. The latest Pixar movie UP is no different by really hitting you hard
with both the comedy and the emotional material. Yet with every new animated
movie we must get the videogame tie-in, which is true with UP, the game for the
Xbox 360.
The game UP is really a
complementary experience to the movie. The game presents challenges based on
areas and events in the movie but rarely has you recreating actual parts from
the movie. This is a great way for gamers who haven’t had a chance to see the
movie to get familiar with the characters and the story. But the game is also an
enjoyable way to extend the movie experience to your Xbox 360 console. In my
opinion I can say that anyone who enjoyed the movie should find some sliver of
enjoyment from the game.
The game starts off with a short
flying mission where you use Dug the dog (yes the dog’s name is Dug) to shoot
down enemy planes trying to take down Carl’s balloon-inflated house. Once that
mission is over you get to the meat and potatoes of the game, which is a co-op
heavy experience. The game is a coin- and item-collecting platformer the likes
of which we’ve seen
plenty of times before. The co-op gameplay requires you to use the specific
skills of each character to keep advancing in the game.
Both Carl and Russell are changeable
by pressing the right bumper to switch between the characters (Dug is also
selectable later in the game). At various parts of a level you’ll encounter
obstacles and puzzles that will require both characters to interact with each
other to keep moving. For example, Russell can pull Carl up by a rope for areas
that Carl can’t reach. Russell can also act as a sling to toss Carl to other
areas usually unreachable by Carl as well. Carl can offer his cane to Russell to
lift him up in certain situations.
Each character also has their own
special moves (activities) they can perform or trigger. These activities are
viewable by a character icon that will appear in certain locations on a level.
For example, Carl can use his cane to push certain items while Russell can use
his Wilderness Explorer pocket knife to cut through various items. There are
additional events that will require both characters to work together to reach or
unlock items and locations in the game. The computer AI did a commendable job of
keeping up with the pace with only a few occasions of falling off the stage.
However, all was not right in the
game, especially when it comes to the Boss battles. It seems the collision
detection and AI would take a turn for the worse by performing poorly. I ran
into several instances where I could move right past the boss character one
moment without being hit but the next moment I was stuck into an invisible
corner by the boss. Then I would run across problems where during one encounter
I could trigger the “event” for the boss battle by moving to a spot on the
stage. Only the next time that spot didn’t trigger the “event.” These events are
really just parts of the battle that need to happen for you to actually damage
the boss. All of these problems resulted in me getting frustrated and my five
year old son getting frustrated as well. Younger gamers will probably need some
help during these boss battles due to these challenges.
Visually the game does a solid job
of representing the movie. Sure you don’t get the same graphic quality and
detail you see in the movie but the characters still look like the movie.
Besides the boss battles the game ran smooth with hardly any slowdown or
hiccups. There were a few moments, especially when playing co-op with my son,
that the game would almost lockup for a few moments. That seemed to happen when
my son would usually jump off (fall off) a ledge to a spot that the game
probably wasn’t expecting.
The game UP doesn’t have the same
magic of the movie but it still offers an enjoyable and, at times, frustrating
experience. The game is rather short with most determined gamers going through
it in a day or two. You can replay the levels to hunt for items that you didn’t
find during the first play through. There are 15 quest cards that you can
collect in the game. Each card has a specific set of items you need to find.
Completing all the quest cards unlock additional bonus content in the game, such
as bonus movies about the development of the game. The Co-Op experience is also
complemented by three multiplayer games, which allows up to four gamers to play.
If you enjoyed the game or want a good introduction to the game then you
shouldn’t miss out on UP.
Gameplay: 8.0
The controls felt solid and responsive during the majority of the game. If only
the boss battles played as well as the rest of the game.
Graphics: 7.5
Sure, the game doesn’t look exactly the same as the movie, which we should
expect and has a top-down third-person viewpoint.
Sound: 8.0
I’m not sure if the actors from the movie voiced their characters in the game
but the voice acting was top notch. Everyone sounds almost exactly the same as
the movie. Only glaring issue was hearing the same phrases repeated over and
over again. Sometimes phrases were spoken way out of context as if the game
didn’t know where the character was moving.
Concept: 6.0
This is a coin-collecting platformer that we’ve seen plenty of times before,
especially in movie tie-in games. The only saving grace is the co-op game play,
which even then isn’t a revolutionary idea.
Multiplayer: 7.7
While playing co-op is a great experience for some it can be a little nail
biting since you might have to wait on the other player to catch up. Playing the
single-player portion and switching out the characters will probably feel easier
for some gamers. The additional multiplayer modes were nice additions but
nothing that really added to the overall game.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Boss battles are frustrating while the rest of the game is almost a walk in the
park.
Overall: 7.4
UP is a good example of a movie tie-in game offering just the right amount of
entertainment to keep the movie alive. Sure, there might be some bumps on the
road but the overall experience still offers some fun moments.
