There are times
when most children wished they were living a different life or maybe even
wishing they had different parents. It’s not that they don’t love their parents
but kids like Coraline Jones feel neglected and wishes her parents would pay
more attention to her than being so absorbed with their writing careers.
Coraline for the Nintendo DS is based on the upcoming film from the makers
of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and follows the plot but it’s just not the
grand adventure it was meant to be even on a good handheld.
Be careful
what you wish for
The story
revolves around a young girl named Coraline who left Michigan with her reserved
parents to move to the old Bobinsky place known by the locals as the Pink
Palace. It’s an odd little house nearly in the middle of nowhere and that’s
perfect if your parents are writers looking for a quiet place to write. It’s not
a good place, however, for a young girl looking for some excitement. Then again,
Coraline discovers that there’s more to the house than meets the eye. In fact,
hidden within the walls is a doorway to an alternate reality where Coraline’s
parents are a lot more attentive. Oh, but there’s a price to pay for this
seemingly perfect world and Coraline is about to find out what that price is and
whether or not to accept it.
Interestingly
enough, you are given the freedom to explore the Pink Palace on your own as well
as outside the house. The house has two levels and a few rooms but once you
cross over to the alternate universe you’ll find several differences. Normally,
I’d be happy to find a game that allows me to explore my surroundings than follow
a linear path but there’s not much here to explore either way. Sure, you’ll meet
several zany characters along the way and you’ll be collecting various items
along the way (including new clothing options for Coraline).
On top of
exploration and interacting with characters such as Coraline’s parents and a
creepy kid that becomes her stalker/friend, you’ll be solving a few puzzles
along the way. For example, an early puzzle has you attempting to open a small
door hidden by wallpaper in the house’s parlor. You’ll discover that sometimes
different items become available by completing other tasks so there’s a lot of
backtracking in this game. You’ll even solve a few puzzles for some of the
characters you’ll meet such as the Ringmaster of a very curious circus.
Smashing
bugs ain’t no fun
Control-wise,
the game allows you to use the directional pad or your Stylus to move Coraline
but in the end it’s the Stylus that is put to more use especially when you’re
suppose to tap a directional icon to climb upstairs or move to the next section
of the area. The Stylus is also used for the few mini-games you’ll encounter in
the game. There’s a musical mini-game later in the game and a mini-game that has
you attempting to smash as many bugs before the time runs out. While the
mini-games do distract from the game’s constant backtracking and exploration,
they’re not too fun for very long. This is too bad since you can always go back
and replay them at any point during the story mode as well as the Collection
Room mode.
Unfortunately,
Coraline is actually a boring game that picks up the excitement a little
too late in the game. When it does get exciting, it does so for short bursts
before it fizzles away thanks to the fact that you will often find yourself
wondering what to do next. Younger gamers will grow even more frustrated by the
fact that the game doesn’t even offer tips or a nudge as to where or what to do
next. The fact that there’s a lot of backtracking and item collecting doesn’t
help things either.
Looking
good, Coraline
When it comes
to the graphics, however, Coraline looks really good. It’s great to see
that the game uses the look of the film throughout the game so all the
characters and backgrounds have that unique appearance. Even Coraline’s flat
head is quite charming and both versions of the Pink Palace really stand out.
It’s sad, however, that the score is limited to a few snippets that repeat
annoyingly. If it wasn’t for the decent sound effects, I probably would have
lowered the volume completely. It’s also too bad that there’s no voice acting in
the game.
In the end,
Coraline for the Nintendo DS is held back by its lack of originality and
fun. Sure, it follows the events of the movie but then again its gameplay makes
for an occasionally confusing and trying time that is sure to frustrate younger
gamers. This is really too bad seeing as the game did have some potential and it
certainly makes good use of the fantastic art design but in the end we have a
rather boring game that should be missed.
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Gameplay: 4.5
Explore the Pink
Palace as Coraline while meeting all the strange characters of that “other
world” but other than that you’ll get bored really quickly. There are some touch
screen mini-games but they are only fun for short bursts. There’s very little
here that will have gamers playing it all over again.
Graphics: 7.5
The graphics are
actually quite stunning on the Nintendo DS and the character models actually
look good in action as well as during cut scenes. This is a game that takes
advantage of the film’s unique look.
Sound: 6.0
The soundtrack
consists of repetitive snippets from the film’s score and there are some sound
samples here that actually work. It’s too bad there are no voices here since the
movie has a great cast.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Some of the puzzles
are easy to solve while other times you won’t get any indication of what to do
next. The mini-games aren’t as challenging as they should be in this game.
Concept: 4.5
Following the plot
of the interesting movie, you have the freedom to explore, interact with the
characters you’ll see in the movie. There’s a Collection Room filled with all
the mini-games and clothing options you unlock during the game. The touch screen
is used as well but not in an inventive way.
Overall: 4.5
Coraline
follows the movie in terms
of the plot but what we have here is a rather dull, lifeless and by-the-numbers
DS game that’s actually quite disappointing. It would have been great if the
game offered more than just boring exploration and uninventive mini-games but,
sadly, Coraline does not deliver. Even if you do end up loving the movie,
this is not a game you will like.
