Game Review: Wall-E

Billy O'Keefe - Mclatchy -Tribune News Service

Jul 10, 2008

Wall-E

Available for: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, PSP, Nintendo DS, Windows and Mac OS X

ESRB Rating: Everyone (cartoon violence)

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We've come to expect a certain measure of well-intentioned prosaicness from Pixar-branded video games, which typically blend together some concoction of fan service and gameplay that is, depending on your level if cynicism, either tried and true or tired and trite.

"Wall-E" doesn't exactly rock this boat, delivering a mostly unimaginative but generally fun experience that's subject both to moments of technical bewilderment and moments of surprising ingenuity.

"Wall-E" pits you in two-and-a-half roles, allowing you to play as Wall-E (the junker bot) in some levels, Eve (the slick white robot) in others, and a third arrangement that won't be detailed here for spoiler purposes. Gameplay consists primarily of platforming and puzzle-solving during the Wall-E levels and third-person shooting and flight missions in the Eve levels.

Creatively, Heavy Iron Studios doesn't exactly reach for the stars. Most of "Wall-E's" objectives consist of stuff you've seen countless times - missions that have you collecting X amount of some object or flying through X amount of rings or checkpoints to reach the next level. The execution is mostly there and the gameplay suffices, though it's largely pedestrian stuff that sometimes falls prone to disappointing visuals and technical hiccups (namely, rare instances of bad collision detection and a sometimes-erratic camera).

Occasionally, though, "Wall-E" tosses out a gem. Finding the optional secret items on each level, for instance, often means solving a puzzle that's a little more inspired and challenging than the base material. And while the game never completely turns a page during the course of the story, it does sprinkle in a few platforming challenges that are honestly good enough to feel right at home in a game starring Mario or Ratchet and Clank. Some Wall-E-centric challenges involve his ability to compact different kinds of trash, and completing both the requisite and optional portions of these challenges is a genuinely satisfying endeavor.

That said, while "Wall-E" the film is a treat for any age, "Wall-E" the game remains pretty squarely aimed at younger players hungry for fan service first and gameplay innovation second. The split-screen multiplayer offerings, as well as all those optional story challenges, give the game some legs for its intended audience, but skilled players likely can see and master the entirety of the game within a day or three.

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