Game Review: Monsters vs Aliens

Steve Wollaston - Sunday Mercury

Monsters vs Aliens - WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

That's what should be on the box of any movie to game tie-in. Let's face it, there has been some real tosh over the years.

Things have been getting better though.

Dreamworks are in big competition with Pixar at the movies and it is more important these days that a solid gaming product accompanies the big screen action.

All the characters from the movie are here and you get to control various weird and wonderful creatures, each with their own unique special characteristics.

Graphically the game is a joy and really shines and shimmers like a new pin.

The cartoon element has been done pretty well and, indeed, setting it aside from the actual film footage is tricky.

It looks great but despite the gaming being more than acceptable it does lack that extra ingenuity and cutting edge to take it further than your standard 'tick box' platform/action title.

But, to be honest, I think in many ways this is what the gamer wants. Kids want a quick fix when it comes to tie-ins, games need to be instant and accessible, fun - quickly captivating without being confusing.

The idea is that the game should be fun to play, offer something extra from the film and generally be of a high quality.

The gameplay is very good and the whole concept of the game is perfectly fine. This game does tick all of those boxes that are important.

This is all my opinion looking over my 11-year-old daughter's shoulder.

She was far too busy to write the review, but what does she think? 'Wicked' - which I believe is good.

Just like bad can also be good and 'Phat' means excellent. Bizarre, innit?

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