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Wall-E
Score: 75%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Savage Entertainment
Media: UMD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Action/ Platformer

Graphics & Sound:
Wall-E is another example of a movie license turned into a somewhat lackluster generic Action/Platformer.

Overall, Wall-E's presentation isn't something to write home about. In-game graphics are a bit of a disappointment and feel like they would be more at home on a DS rather than a PSP. The characters and environments all seem a bit too blocky, while the 2D elements (in-game popups and what not) are just plain blurry.

Oddly enough, the FMV cutscenes are downright gorgeous. When you find artifacts or complete certain parts of each level, you are treated to a nice, brief clip with almost as much detail as the movie itself. Unfortunately, this only goes to show how low-grade the in-game graphics are.

Wall-E's audio is so-so. The game seems to use all the same audio elements that the console version did, but the atmosphere just isn't conveyed the same way.


Gameplay:
Wall-E follows the adventures of a little clean-up robot whose job it is to pick up the trash that humanity left behind. When the human race realized that Earth had grown inhabitable because of the excess trash, they left in spaceships and created robots to take care of the mess. Unfortunately, after 700 years, only one is left, and his daily life is comprised of crushing trash cubes and longing for company.

When Wall-E discovers a new robot named Eve, whose job it is to find some form of life on Earth, he falls in love and ends up following her back to the Axiom, the ship all the humans left on. As Wall-E moves from the harsh wasteland that is Earth to the clean environment of the Axiom, he causes mayhem and disruption wherever he goes.

Wall-E also offers multiplayer mini-games that are unlocked as you progress through the story. High Speed Flight is a racing game, while Heavy Traffic is a Frogger style game and Spaceship Shootout gives you controls of the ship's lasers as you shoot asteroids in space.


Difficulty:
Wall-E isn't all that hard of a game. I found the story could be played through in only a few sittings. Enemies are spaced out enough to give you plenty of breathing room and even if you run out of power (which isn't likely considering the amount of yellow energy vials that appears), you are never really that far from your previous location, so even death isn't all that harmful.

Unfortunately, the game's shaky controls are going to be your biggest hassle. This is really for the Game Mechanics section, but there are just plenty of times when you will have to perform the same jump multiple times until that lucky one where you actually nail it.


Game Mechanics:
Unfortunately, for a platformer, Wall-E has a few problems with some of the more basic platforming functions, namely jumping. While the physical jump is simple to activate, most of the time lining up the jump is tough, and more times than not, a basic jump isn't required, Wall-E's super jump is. To perform this, you simply build up enough speed to fill up a meter before jumping. Since most jumps require a fair amount of lining up, having to rush to the ramp just adds a level of complexity that makes them more difficult than necessary.

As far as movie tie-ins are concerned, Wall-E pretty much fits the bill. While not really a bad game, it feels rushed and just not up to par with other solid titles. I can only recommend this game as a rental, and then only for the most rabid of Wall-E fans.


-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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