Wallace & Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
In case you are unfamiliar with the cracking good comedy, allow me to introduce you to the two main characters. First off there is Wallace, who is a brown wool trouser and green knitted vest wearing cheese lover that also has a passion for inventing ridiculous things. His dog, Gromit, doesn’t talk like other cartoony animals, instead he uses facial and body expressions to get across what he’s thinking or feeling. He graduated from Dogwarts University, is very adept with electrical equipment, and is arguably more intelligent than his master.
In the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the two must save the towns vegetables from a horde of bunnies. Wallace creates a machine that will brainwash the rabbits into not wanting to eat everyone’s vegetables. Something goes wrong though and soon the dynamic duo has a were-rabbit on their hands, and only they can stop it. The game pretty much follows the film to the letter and is not only faithful to the franchise with its story material, but also with the overall style.
Gameplay:
If you’ve ever dreamed about sucking bunnies up with a vacuum cleaner, then boy is this game right up your alley. Wallace and Gromit are part of the Anti-Pesto humane pest removal company, and are trying to pay the bills. Fortunately for them the bunny epidemic has spread across town and no garden is safe. By using the Bungun to pick them up and dropping them into a big holding tank, you’ll clear the area and earn cards for your collection.
The gameplay elevates beyond that at a couple of points thanks to some strategy that is needed to get rid of all of the pesky varmints. Bunnies aren’t the only critters that are plaguing the town of Tottington though, so be prepared to face squirrels, chickens and hedgehogs too. You’ll learn various tricks of the trade as you play and the game gives a decent attempt to create some variety.
The best part of the game is probably the ability to swap between Wallace, Gromit, and newcomer Hutch. Each of the characters essentially plays the same, but there are different techniques each has that make them unique. Several missions that you undertake have portions that require you to set up more than one character in order to accomplish your goal. That means sometimes you need Wallace to stand guard while Gromit scares up some bunnies, or both characters need to pull a level at the same time. It adds some gameplay elements that games like this typically don’t have, and is a welcome element.
There is plenty of pest hunting to be had as well since just about everyone in town has a particular mission for you to undertake. Some can be found during daylight, while others can be found during the cover of night. Each offers a different theme or difficulty, but in the end the gameplay is essentially all the same. The game will keep kids and fans of the characters interested, but anyone else will think the game is too easy and simplistic.
For a movie to game translation though, the final product here is decent enough. While I liked the game, I found myself getting bored with it and found it to be very repetitive. I also got frustrated with some sluggish control and a semi-crazy camera that seemed to have a mind of its own. Overall though, the game is cute and captures the feel of the movie perfectly.
Graphics:
At first glance during a cut scene, I thought that it was actually claymation instead of CG effects. The character models and animation mimics those of the show and movie perfectly and provide a very authentic experience. The world is also realized very well and the town of Tottington is large and highly detailed. There are some choppy animations at times and a little bit of slowdown creeps in occasionally. The game also has some smooth textures, but some times things can get a little rough around the edges, which kind of kills the claymation appearance.
Audio:
The game is ripe with British humor and slang, plus features some of the original voice cast from the film. This will definitely keep fans pleased, but may alienate some younger audiences who haven’t been exposed to this style of dialect before. To be fair though, really only gamers who like Wallace & Gromit are going to give this title a whirl, and in that regard you’ll be plenty happy. The music is decent as well, though the soundtrack is a little more subdued than I’d like. The game also is riddled with cute animal noises and other generally adorable sound effects.
Conclusion:
As far as movie to game crossovers go, Wallace & Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit is very respectable. It has the look and feel of the film, plus is much better than the Project Zoo game that came out a couple of years ago. The game unfortunately becomes boring and repetitive, plus has some quirky control issues and a bothersome camera system. Fans of the material will enjoy it, but your average gamer will no doubt be able to skip it. In the end though I’m going to suggest that the game gets rented, because only fans of Wallace & Gromit will be even be thinking about playing it. Rent It