Wallace and Gromit's Fright of the Bumblebees Review 2
- Sunday, 23 May 2010 17:34
- Last Updated on Monday, 16 May 2011 06:07
- Written by Marc Spess
M Flem Jr, an active member of both AnimateClay.com and StopMotionMagic.com reviews the first episode titled Fright of the Bumblebees from Wallace and Gromit's 4 episode series called Wallace and Gromits Grand Adventures.
Fans of Wallace and his dog will simply love controlling both Wallace and Gromit in the most laid back game the duo has been in yet, Which is a good thing since there are no constantly repetitive chores you must preform or any crazy button combos to remember. The controls are incredibly simple and can be played by anyone. Watching Gromits head follow your mouse cursor is really nice touch as well the famous pitter-patter his feet make when he walks. The puzzles are mostly simple and helps keep the story moving along nicely although you really don't have much say in how the story plays out or have much ability to freely explore the house. Hard core fans will also notice that Peter Sallis does not voice Wallace, The actor who does voice Wallace is really close but it is a pretty noticeable loss if you re a fan.
The animation made the transition really well even though the frame rate is a fluid 30 FPS it looks just like its classic 12-24 FPS brethren. The story is structured much like all of Wallace and Gromits shorts but instead of ending in 22 minutes like one of their Clay-Animated shorts you are able to squeeze several hours of fun out of this game. The soundtrack is classic W&G as is the voice acting. There are also several references to the duo's shorts and their feature film that many fan's will pick up on right away but if this is your first time meeting W&G it won't hinder your experience at all. This game is not a sequel or prequel to any of Wallace and Gromits previous outings, No George Lucas shenanigans here.
While the game play won't suit many gamers of this generation looking to blow up some robotic aliens, it is a fun Classic Wallace and Gromits experience that has clean humor that both kids and adults will enjoy. Many might say this game is targeted toward children but I would say anyone from 7 and up could jump right in and play this game. They are releasing Fright of the Bumblebees as well as the other 3 games in the series on the X-box LIVE Arcade as well with episode 1 arriving in a week or so while the others do so sometime in May-July. It is available now online for 34.95 USD which includes all 4 episodes of which are delivered monthly at telltalegames.com, Fans will love it - M Flem Jr
Concept: let players control one of Wallace and Gromits short films.
Graphics: The graphics are done to look like one of Wallace and Gromits shorts and does so beautifully. Character design is also well done - especially the bees.
Sound: The lack of Peter Sallis voice hurts but overall a complete Wallace and Gromits soundtrack with a ton of the series hallmark sound effects and phrases.
Playability: Simple controls and puzzles make this a well rounded out and enjoyable gameplay package.
Replay Value: Moderately low
Bottom Line 9.0 out of 10 Must Buy!
Requirements: Operating system: Windows XP / Vista
Processor: 2.0 GHz or better (3 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended)
Memory: 512MB (1GB recommended)
Hard disk space: 310MB
Video: 64MB DirectX 8.1-compliant video card (128MB recommended)
Sound: DirectX 8.1 sound device
DirectX®: Version 9.0c or better
C version: On PC, the games will sell in a downloadable, four episode bundle from www.telltalegames.com for the price of $34.95 (approximately £25). Fright of the Bumblebees will launch on March 24 and the subsequent episodes will be delivered in May, June, and July.
Xbox version: Wallace and Gromits Grand Adventures will also be available through Xbox LIVE Arcade, with a time frame and pricing to be announced.
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