As
exceptional as Pixar’s films have been, they’ve rarely resulted in quality game
experiences. Even with that in mind, UP is surprisingly poor. The game can be
completed in well under three hours, and that’s still more than enough time for
the experience to become incredibly repetitive.
The levels
in UP can be broken into three varieties. The most prominent are jungle
exploration levels, where Carl and Russell (and occasionally Dug the dog) from
the film team up to pass various obstacles via puzzle-solving and platforming.
The player can switch between controlling Carl and Russell on the fly, or a
buddy can drop-in for cooperative play. Although the cooperative game design is
great in concept, it just isn’t well executed. If you reach a dead end, there is
always either a narrow ledge that Russell can shimmy across, or a platform that
Carl can reach with his cane. There is almost no variety here.
Puzzles are
even less inspiring, as they generally consist of rock platforms that need to be
pushed along a set path. These levels are also overloaded with dog fights, which
become tiresome very quickly as they require you to basically stand around and
wait until a dog charges at you.
Besides the
bland gameplay, these levels also suffer from an inexplicably wonky camera
system. The camera is set so far away from the action that it can be difficult
to even see what’s happening at times. Perhaps the distance issue was done to
mask the low quality of the visuals a bit, but that certainly doesn’t justify it
being a hindrance on the gameplay. There are also times when the camera just
simply isn’t working. It occasionally spins around wildly, gets stuck and fails
to properly frame the action.
There are a
few major boss fight levels, which fare a bit better in the design department
than the general gameplay, but still feature many of the same technical issues.
There are also a couple aerial dogfight levels, which make for a nice change of
pace if nothing else. And although they might not be as irritating as the bulk
of the game, they still aren’t much fun.
Graphically,
UP has the advantage of being able to utilize the excellent art direction from
the film. But technically speaking, the visuals are underwhelming at best. The
character models look rough around the edges, and environments don’t feature
very impressive detail or texture work. Colors are also very washed out, making
for a bland looking experience.
The
highlight of UP is definitely the score, which features the excellent music from
the movie composed by Michael Giacchino. The voice actors from the film also
come along for the ride and do great work here, although the sound mix keeps the
dialog dialed down enough that it can be hard to really appreciate it.
UP’s main
multiplayer focus is the cooperative aspect of the main campaign, but it also
features a few versus modes, all of them based on the aerial portion of the
game. None of them are particularly compelling, but the dogfight fares the best.
As great a
film as UP is, the game just doesn’t have it. The gameplay is irritating more
than fun, and the design feels rushed and uninspired. No matter how big a fan of
the film you are, the game, unfortunately, just isn’t worth your time.
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Gameplay: 4.5
Awkward,
repetitive and extremely short, UP doesn’t feature a single original idea, nor
does it execute its extremely basic gameplay to any success. The camera system
is one of the worst I’ve seen in years.
Graphics: 5.0
Sharing its art
direction with the feature film helps somewhat, but the washed out, low detail
visuals are otherwise poor.
Sound: 6.0
The single best
aspect of UP is the score, which is mostly straight from the film. Voice acting
also carries over, and is good. The sound mixing is poor, though, as dialog is
far too soft.
Difficulty: Easy
Concept: 4.0
UP is without a
shred of originality or fun. The design is about as bland and by the numbers as
it gets. The game is incredibly short, yet still very repetitive.
Multiplayer: 5.0
The inclusion of
cooperative play is a nice addition, but the mini-games don’t add much to the
package.
Overall: 5.0
Even by licensed
game standards, UP is surprisingly poor. The design is uninspired, but more
importantly, it just isn’t fun or satisfying to play.
