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Wallace
and Gromit - Project Zoo check out website: www.acclaim.com
The game starts with a superb intro which brings you pleasantly up to speed with the terrible events that lead you to the task in hand. The evil Feathers McGraw (since his capture after the events that occurred in The Wrong Trousers) has been imprisoned in the zoo for his crimes. Wallace and Gromit have adopted a polar bear that lives in the zoo and the visit him regularly.
The game itself is a third person platformer including 5 large levels with 24 sub-levels and mini-games all set across 8 environments. You start off in a jungle and on collecting a few nuts and bolts, Wallace soon fixes you up a banana gun. As you progress you also collect golden tools which allow Wallace to fix machinery and make wonderful contraptions. Other areas include an old mine with runaway mine carts, lava pits, factories and icy wastelands. There are also coins that you collect by finishing tasks or completing bonus areas. These in turn open up short film clips from The Wrong Trousers animated film and some of the other Wallace and Gromit films. This definitely adds to the replayability of the game as you can go back and replay levels to collect the coins you've missed first time round. Like most good platformers there are plenty of moves available to you that Gromit can perform and plenty of weapons can be obtained including a porridge flinger and turnip gun. This leads me on to one of the slight flaws with the game - the controls. I think a bit more tweaking and game-testing could have made this game a bit more pleasurable to play as it stands the controls are just a bit too twitchy for my liking especially when in comes to platformers. The level design also could be stronger. It sometimes just feels a bit tired and lacking in inspiration. Perhaps relying on difficulty factor rather than innovative game design. There are moments, though, that are genuinely enjoyable. There are film references liberally scattered all through the game and even a reference to Metal Gear Solid where you have to stealthily sneak around guards while you are hidden under a cardboard box. The game uses the original voices from the films and along with some excellent lines from Wallace provide plenty of humour throughout. The main characters are beautifully rendered and look very much like the original plasticine models. The animation and cutscenes are also of a very high quality. The background textures are not quite up to the same level though which is a shame. Overall, this is a very enjoyable game that perhaps could have done with a bit of tweaking here and there. It really keeps to the spirit of the original animations and fans will love it. The game itself is not too difficult but with the mini-games and large areas there is plenty to do. Although I would say I found most of the bonus areas frustratingly difficult to do (but that could just be me!). Die-hard game-fans will probably want to look elsewhere but if you like Wallace and Gromit or you want a reasonable platformer to have a go and give it a try. Phil Jones
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OTHER REVIEWS - February 2004
BOOKS The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold The Separation by Christopher Priest First Meetings In The Enderverse by Orson Scott Card Dragon Venom by Lawrence Watt-Evans The Dolphins Of Pern by Anne McCaffrey Reach For Tomorrow by Arthur C Clarke The Mammoth Book Of Best New SF # 16 edited by Gardner Dozois 1610: A Sundial In A Grave by Mary Gentle Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss Trading In Danger by Elizabeth Moon Richard Matheson: Collected Stories Vol. 1 edited by Stanley Wiater The Gates To Witchworld by Andre Norton Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil by Robert Simpson The Killing Of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld Star Trek: The Original Series: Gemini by Mike W. Barr MUSIC COMPUTER GAMES Wallace and Gromit - Project Zoo RPGs & WARGAMES MAGAZINES On Spec: The Canadian Magazine
Of The Fantastic vol 15 no. 2 & 3
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Most people are familiar with the short Aardman
plasticine animated films, which have become so popular over the
years so it's a surprise that no one up to now has thought of doing
a game based on the two familiar characters.
One
morning, they go to the zoo to find it shut and on enquiring further
find it has a new owner: Feathers! He has kidnapped all the baby
animals and taken them hostage, forcing their parent to work for
him and carry out his dastardly plans. Wallace and Gromit break
into the zoo in a giant Trojan penguin and try and foil feather's
plans and rescue the animals.
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