Top Ten Animated Movie Tie-In PlayStation Games #1

#1: A Bug’s Life (PS1)

Summer 1998 saw the release of Pixar’s second triumph, branded an ‘epic of miniature proportions’, the fun-filled, feel-good ‘Flik’ (get it?) A Bug’s Life, and though it isn’t universally perceived to be as engaging or interesting as their previous feature, the ground-breaking Toy Story (1995), Disney/Pixar’s follow-up nonetheless proved to be a worthy successor. With stunning visuals, sublime animation and top-notch voice acting, the film proved to be another winner in Pixar’s canon, albeit one of the least praised in subsequent years. Coinciding with the release of the movie, Disney Interactive and Traveller’s Tales produced a movie tie-in of the same name for the PlayStation One, and the game was met with reviews varying from mediocre to somewhat decent. However, in retrospect, this game is one of the very best Disney have to offer. I might be a tad biased, being as I’ve played this game since I was knee-high to a grasshopper (so to speak). But hear me out.

First of all, the graphics, for the time of its release, are fantastic. The environments are particularly gorgeous, with many locations looking almost as though they are exact replicas of those in the film. The eerie inner tunnels of the ant hill, the vast riverbed plain, the clover forest – they really did a great job capturing the look and feel of the movie, granted some graphics are better than others. In addition, the animations for the characters are also quite cute and fun.

Furthermore, the voiceover work is some of the best I’ve heard in a video-game. Although not all the voice actors from the movie reprise their roles in the game, the impersonators who replace them don’t do a bad job at all. Atta, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the movie, is here voiced by Ariel herself, Jodi Benson, and I have to say, as percipient as I usually am, I didn’t even notice. Hopper’s voice was fairly close too. The highlight of the game, however, is Flik, voiced by Dave Foley. His constant interactions with the player are a delight, and it really helps to capture the light-hearted, upbeat aesthetic of the film.

The soundtrack, while hardly up to the standards of the grand orchestral score of the film, nonetheless maintains a certain charm, and fits the gameplay nicely. It does not feel imposing or irritating; for the most part, it’s fairly melodic and enjoyable. Moreover, it maintains a certain atmospheric quality, the music accompanying the riverbed levels and the final showdown being particular highlights.

That is not to say, however, that the game is without its flaws. For starters, it follows a certain structure – the game is composed of five ‘lands’, each one comprised of three levels, resulting in fifteen levels in total, with every third level being a boss battle. Now, initially, this does not seem to be a problem. In fact, it seems to work well, and manages to follow the plot of the movie surprisingly accurately. On the other hand, certain events of the film have been reworked and even reordered, which wouldn’t be a problem unless they affected the story. For example, in order for the game to adhere to the set structure, Flik has to defeat the bird prior to finding the ‘warrior bugs’. Hell, if he can do that, why is he even bothering to find them?! Another alteration is that, later on in the game, Hopper takes Atta hostage rather than Flik, as it was in the film, but these are really the only major changes, and I have to admit I’m being nit-picky here. For the most part, the structure works and manages to stay very close to the plot of the film.

Yet I’m afraid that that is not the only issue I have with this game. The camera control, though it doesn’t require too much getting used to, is awkward and fairly slow. What’s more, you can’t turn the camera while on the move. After a while, however, this doesn’t seem much of an issue, but it is a little problematic. In addition, close combat attacks are pointless. The kick is weak and far too slow to respond, so much so that it barely warrants using it at all.

All in all, however, these are just minor setbacks in an otherwise brilliant game. This is probably the closest video-game adaptation of a movie I’ve ever played. The gameplay might not be perfect, but it’s filled with vast, free-roaming environments that are fun to explore and interact with, and ultimately, that’s what makes A Bug’s Life a great and criminally underrated game. It manages to not only be fun but faithful to the film – a tremendous feat.

8.5/10

Top Ten Animated Movie Tie-In PlayStation Games #2

#2: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (PS2)

Once in a while, there comes a game that completely and utterly surpasses my expectations, granted my expectations for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit for the PlayStation 2 weren’t that great anyway. Sure, I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was very good, but could it lend itself well to a video-game? Honestly, I didn’t think so. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I didn’t have high hopes for it. How wrong I was! In all seriousness, I never expected to say this about a Wallace and Gromit-centred game, but this perhaps ranks amongst one of the best I’ve ever played in my life. No, really. This game is well and truly cracking.

The game begins at Tottington Hall, and you must clear Lady Tottington’s lawn of rabbits, very much like the opening scenes of the Dreamworks/Aardman movie of the same name. At this point, it just kind of feels like it’s going through the motions. Okay, the graphics are good, and it looks like the film, but it doesn’t ‘grab’ you instantly. I distinctly remember getting so far into the tutorial before shelving it for another few weeks, thinking I might come back to it at some point. And man, am I glad I did! As soon as you’re done with the tutorial, you get to explore the town centre, and it is nothing short of impressive. The game is 2-player, besides the tutorial, and both Wallace and Gromit have their own abilities. For example, Gromit can perform a ‘wall-jump’, while Wallace can produce a blast of air from his bun-gun, a device used to suck up and shoot rabbits into open drains.

Now, the most perceptive of you will probably have noticed that I am often critical of movie tie-ins that stray away from the plot of the film. That’s true. I am. But in this case, I’m going to make an exception. Yes, there are a great number of tasks that diverge far from the main storyline of the film, but it’s justified in that you’re doing your job as Anti-Pesto, clearing lawns of pests and the like. It’s fun and, above all, it makes perfect sense. The game becomes truly engaging as soon as you progress to the night-time levels. Not only is there a were-rabbit at large (and it is, indeed, very large), but there are also numerous other were-creatures roaming the streets. Some might say this goes too far, but it’s explained and it makes sense, and it only serves to make the game more exciting. Since Wallace, at night, is, erm… ‘indisposed’ (I don’t want to risk spoiling the film for those who haven’t seen it!), his character is replaced by Hutch, the Wallace-like rabbit from the film, who can perform both Wallace and Gromit’s abilities.

Before long, you unlock new areas, including the seaside town Wallersey and the industrial district Grimsley. It may not be until you unlock Wallersey that you realise just how immense this game is. The environments are huge, detailed, and supremely enjoyable. Furthermore, you get to speak to all the residents of the town, most of which are seen in crowd scenes in the feature film, and most of whom will reward you should you complete a task they have for you to perform. Not all of the voices are the same – Peter Kay as PC Mackintosh is sorely missed, as is Liz Smith as Mrs Mulch, but this can’t necessarily be helped. Besides, the impersonators replacing them sound very alike (except for Mrs Mulch – she sounds like she’s swallowed an apple). There are also several details that make the game all the more charming, such as growing Gromit’s prize marrow in the greenhouse.

Sadly the game isn’t all great. The gameplay itself is hardly unique, and some of the controls are a little awkward. Wallace is particularly annoying because of his size, but this barely detracts from the overall enjoyableness of the game, which is full of surprises and fun activities, most of which are fairly challenging. However, perhaps the most prominent flaw is the 2-player feature. Co-op mode is fun, but without that second player, the other character proves to be rather irritating. In order to get your friend to perform a particular action, you need to use the L1 ‘whistle’ feature to call them over. While this seems a good idea, there is a delay before the character responds, and this is especially annoying during timed tasks, which may therefore require several attempts, and this is sure to send you hopping mad. Ha! Get it? Okay, maybe it’s time to wrap this up before the jokes get any worse.

Regardless of these minor faults, this game is undeniably grand. The characters are believable, the environments are incredibly detailed and free-roaming, and the game is full of highly enjoyable tasks (albeit occasionally frustrating). No, it isn’t a strictly accurate adaptation of the movie but, unlike the likes of Toy Story 2 and other movie tie-ins, the game actually feels like it’s an extension of the movie, as opposed to a lazy spin-off. This truly is a grand adventure.

8.5/10

Top Ten Animated Movie Tie-In PlayStation Games #3

#3: The Incredibles (PS2)

In 2004, Pixar released superhero animated comedy The Incredibles. The film wowed critics and audiences alike and was regarded itself as being no less than ‘super’. Around the same time that year, Heavy Iron Studios and THQ unveiled The Incredibles for the PS2, to mostly mediocre reviews. In retrospect, however, this was probably one of Disney’s best movie tie-ins. And here’s why.

First off, it follows the plot of the film tremendously, with the majority of levels actually seeming as though they are extended scenes extracted from the film. The soundtrack helps emanate the movie’s aesthetic and inspiring, jazzy tone – the fact that it’s pretty much all the same music that we heard in the film really works in the game’s favour. It feels authentic, and that’s key to a solid movie tie-in. Most of the voice actors return too; only Holly Hunter as Elastigirl doesn’t reprise her role and we instead get some irritating actor who tries too hard to sound like her. It hardly ruins the game but it’s a little jarring. Otherwise, it truly feels as though you’re in The Incredibles.

The controls aren’t flawless, however. Mr Incredible is the most agile of the Parr family: he can ‘incredi-punch’ his way through a long line of bad guys without breaking a sweat, and that’s not to mention his many other abilities, including a super jump, roll and ground slam. The other characters, however, aren’t quite so enthralling to control. The Dash levels are fun but can be challenging, while Violet’s solo level is undeniably difficult, being as you can only remain invisible for a limited time (that said, I have never been much good at stealth and delicacy levels, so maybe this is just a personal issue). But my main problem lies with Elastigirl, or Mrs Incredible. Her flexibility allows for some smooth and slick animations, but her fighting technique isn’t always on target; combat is a problem as she won’t always hit the guy you want to hit, and her abilities pose a far more substantial learning curve than any of the others.

Another complaint I have, albeit a minor one, is that we never actually see the main villain Syndrome in the game (unless you count his early appearance as Buddy Pine). Instead, you fight the Omnidroid robots, which, apart from the final boss level, actually become quite routine and repetitive fairly quickly. It’s enjoyable, yes, but it grows tired before long. The robot tanks that make recurrent appearances throughout the game also become very frustrating after a while.

Despite these few flaws, however, the game is very good. The music and voiceovers do a neat job in conveying the atmosphere and character of the film; the locations are very convincing, and it’s nice to play a game with various playable characters, in which a certain amount of thought and creativity has been invested in their controls and abilities, even if they’re not entirely faultless. In this respect, The Incredibles may not have succeeded overwhelmingly in producing a solid tie-in platformer, but this is essentially all that prevents it from being truly incredible.

  

8/10