RED Games Review: Summer Blockbuster Games
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A lucrative summer box office has provided ample opportunity for game developers to cash in on fan enthusiasm in the form of movie based games. In this round-up, we review the WII games tying into four of the summer's most anticipated blockbusters. Find out which games live up to silver screen!
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Electronic Arts
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'
With critical reception for the 'Harry Potter' series of books and films consistently positive, it's kind of a let down that game developers aren't able to bring the same level of quality to the 'Harry Potter' games. The latest in the series, 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' is no exception to this rule.
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Electronic Arts
'Order of the Phoenix'
'Order of the Phoenix's greatest triumph is its faithful recreation of Hogwarts. Potter fans could get a real kick out of exploring all the magical marvels of Harry's school. Likewise, spell casting is very cool, although, sadly, you don't have to do it very often. Overall, the graphics are pretty decent as far as Wii games go and sometimes even spectacular as in the case of the grand staircase. Within game play itself, the mini-games are entertaining if not particularly creative.
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Electronic Arts
'Order of the Phoenix'
Though true to the original plot, the game's choice to tell the story in scattered video segments and newspaper clippings makes it difficult to follow. Worse still, the mission objectives are uniformly boring - usually involving Harry fetching something or doing things over and over again. Though mini-games help to alleviate the repetitive feel, the game still feels like an endless to-do list of chores. When all is said and done, 'OOTP''s strengths fall short of compensating for its weaknesses.
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THQ
'Ratatouille'
Story-wise, 'Ratatouille' the game is faithful to the film. The player follows Remy in his adventures from regular country rat to big-time Parisian chef with each plot episode translated into a playable mission. However, story aside, little else of Ratatouille's incredible cinematic charm is evident in the game.
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THQ
'Ratatouille'
'Ratatouille' for Wii is predictably formulaic and graphically uninspired. Playing the game poses little challenge and each successive mission thrashes hopes that something more exciting will happen. A number of mini-games thrown in help alleviate the game's monotony and are one of 'Ratatouille's redeeming features but they are all too few and far in between. They also wear a little thin with repeated play.
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THQ
'Ratatouille'
Ultimately, 'Ratatouille' may satisfy a young fan that wants to kill some time, but a better option would be to buy the film on DVD and watch it again.
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Activision
'Transformers'
Maybe it's my fault for expecting too much from a game based on a film, based on a cartoon series, based on a line of toy robots. However, I still expected more. 'Transformers' the movie has proven one of this summer's biggest blockbusters but don't be surprised if the game doesn't do similar business.
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Activision
'Transformers'
As a movie-based game, the premise of 'Transformers' is true to the film's. The downside is that 'Transformers' exhibits all the typical flaws of the movie game genre including short length, unsophisticated mechanics, threadbare story, and lack of detail. The game gives the impression that it was carelessly made, which is never good.
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Activision
'Transformers'
That said, 'Transformers' does a pretty good job of showing off the sheer power of the robots that star in the movie. Some, mostly fans of the film, may have fun (for a little while) running around destroying things with the Transformers. However, in the end, 'Transformers' is just another poorly made game seeking to take advantage of fan enthusiasm.
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Take-Two Interactive
'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'
There's absolutely nothing fantastic about 'Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer'. The movie may have drawn crowds earlier this summer, but not even those who really loved the movie will be entertained by the game. Although most movie games are usually not known for quality, 'Fantastic Four' takes awful gamemaking to new heights.
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Take-Two Interactive
'Rise of the Silver Surfer'
Every aspect of 'ROTSS' is heartbreakingly bad; the story is hard to follow, the graphics are lousy, and the missions are manufactured and repetitive. Though supposedly based on the movie, the game butchers the plot to the point where it's entirely new. The new storyline is so lame, it's cheesy. Sporadic video scenes aside, much of the story is told through baffling pop-up text boxes and talking heads that are very confusing.
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Take-Two Interactive
'Rise of the Silver Surfer'
For fans of the movie, the most puzzling thing about 'Fantastic Four' may be that the game developers chose to leave out the 'Silver Surfer' entirely. Everyone is left waiting for the punchline that never comes. Ultimately, there's nothing that can be said about 'Fantastic Four' except that it really sucks.
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