Wall-E, a Disney and
Pixar film, stars the titled robot who has gained fame over the last two years
from a marketing campaign that began in the summer of ’06 as a teaser trailer in
front of the film Cars. Now, already out in theatres nationwide, THQ is
hoping to capitalize on the huge marketing spree with a release of the game on
the PlayStation 2.
Focusing around puzzles and a
few other variances for gameplay, Wall-E has translated well into a video
game. For the most part, Wall-E follows the plot of the movie as the
people of Earth desert the world due to the exceeding amounts of trash pilling
up. Wall-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) robots have been left
behind on Earth to clean up the world so that one day humans can come back and
live on the world they deserted. After hundreds of years of cleaning up the
waste on Earth, many of the Wall-E robots perish leaving only one remaining to
carry out their task. Lonely and bored of his monotonous task, Wall-E is
surprised by the appearance of a spaceship that lands and deploys a robot named
Eve who is sent to Earth to scan for life. When Eve decides to depart after
finishing her job, Wall-E decides to chase after her since he’s fallen in love
with Eve.
In control of Wall-E for most
of the game, players must solve puzzles and take on simple enemies. Having the
ability to transform into a box and then charge through objects in his way,
Wall-E is able to take on the hard life of a hero with ease. Having the ability
to transform into a box is also beneficial as it’ll allow Wall-E to speed up and
clear jumps for basic platforming maneuvers. Wall-E must also collect energy
charges that will help him pass through doorways that require a certain number
of them to pass through. Another weapon at Wall-E’s disposal is a laser which
will help him cut through objects.
The puzzles that Wall-E
encounters are set before him so that he has to solve them to advance to the
next area. Many of the puzzles are memory where it’ll ask the player to do his
or her best to remember a pattern. Another puzzle variance will ask Wall-E to
shoot objects with his laser to have a door unlocked. Overall though, the
puzzles are aimed at children and are a piece of cake to solve.
Wall-E also has the capability
to enter into first-person mode to target certain objects and scan the
environment. Scanning the environment is vital to find hidden artifacts left
behind by the human race. Finding these objects open up the chance to see
Wall-E interact with the object and they’re often humorous to watch.
What is great to see with
Wall-E on the PS2 is that it
has over 20 stages to play through, which is over two times larger than on the
next-gen consoles such as the Xbox 360. With so many levels, the gameplay
differs from each level to mix it up from time to time. The only downfall is
that the elements of the game aren’t complex enough to dig deep into and become
enthralled with. On top of all that, they are incredibly short and are over
before you know it.
The graphics hold up for being
a visually pleasing Playstation 2 title. Having an easier time controlling the
camera on the PS2 version when compared to the 360 version is perhaps the most
appealing aspect of Wall-E. Besides that, players won’t experience frame rate
drops nor will they find many moments where screen tearing becomes apparent.
Outside of that, the environments aren’t that detailed but at least the
presentation of the entire game comes off well.
If players are looking to
continue their Wall-E experience after the film, it’s recommended they pick up
Wall-E on the PS2. It is fun, it’s humorous, and most of all, it’s
entertaining.
|
Review Scoring Details for Wall.E |
Gameplay: 7.2
While it does differ in many
levels, the gameplay is short in terms of length and depth.
Graphics: 7.5
The environments needed to be
beefed up to make for a better visual experience.
Sound: 7.8
Similar to the movie, the audio
aspects are entertaining to say the least.
Difficulty: Easy
Aimed at a younger audience,
many gamers shouldn’t have trouble breezing through Wall-E.
Concept: 6.0
Like many other licensed video
games, Wall-E isn’t full of originality.
Multiplayer: 5.0
There are various multiplayer
modes, but they aren’t anything to write home about.
Overall: 7.2
Wall-E on the PS2 is worth
checking out for fans of the film. It’s a solid adaptation that should
entertain the younger crowd who fell in love with the film.
