This was a hard game to play. I have beaten this game twice they took hours and hours and don't get me started with puzzles
Thought it was a bit weird how they put feathers mcgraw in a blender at the end and turned him into a milkshake
Whoever invented this should be imprisoned.
a most beautiful and delicious game experience
They don’t make em like they used to
i forgot when i finished this.
Listen, this may be the game I'm most defensive about from my childhood because the vibe is impeccable and there's a lot to love about it, but I will admit some of the solutions to puzzles or how to control Wallace get a bit obtuse. Need need need to finish it though.
Art deco vending machines, weapon improvisation, and the ruthless consumption of industrialism. Would you kindly remember the cheese?
Will KICK YOUR ASS back to wherever you came from
bro what have they done too my sweet child
Cute! Wallace & Gromit is one of those things where I don't think about it a whole lot, but when I do, I remember just how much I like it. A video game hits a real sweet spot for me, then, particularly a tried-but-true 3D platformer.
The game definitely gets what it means to do Wallace & Gromit in the context of a video game. You play as Gromit and not Wallace; Wallace's contributions are in the inventions and weapons (all food-based, naturally) and in trying but largely failing to be part of the action pieces. There's very little dialogue, with most vocal lines delivered by an unsupportive narrator and Wallace monologuing to Gromit. Feathers McGraw - the penguin from "The Wrong Trousers" - is back, with the game's story acting as a sequel to his debut short. There are throwaway nods to the shorts scattered throughout, like the box of "Meatabix" (completely missed that pun as a kid). And as a cute legacy nod, animal designs are reused from "Creature Comforts" where applicable.
There's also a motif throughout of the game sneaking in nods to other video games. It's all on the sly, so don't expect any big parodic send-ups like you'd see out of Conker or Asterix. But if you're paying attention, you'll catch that the first room of the Panda enclosure is specifically homaging Metal Gear Solid, down to the sight gag involving Mei Ling's Codec number, and the Penguin enclosure boss fight being an Asteroids nod, down to the ice floes having the distinct wedge missing like the original Asteroids. It's my favorite type of reference humor, where they're made unobtrusively, and the game maintains its integrity even if you don't get it.
Like, they have a gorilla throwing barrels - the single most stock "I'm referencing a video game" joke you see in media. But it doesn't feel trite because the gorilla throwing the barrel isn't underlined by the text of the work; it's just part of the tapestry of the game world. It makes sense for the gorilla to throw barrels in the context of the narrative: Feathers has enslaved the other zoo animals to do his bidding and perform menial tasks; mindlessly chucking barrels as an ambiguous part of some machine is right in line with that. Does it matter if it's a reference? Nah, but that just makes it a cute shout-out.
I'll say the game's rarely interesting as a platformer. Platformers tend to be the safest genre you can develop in, and I don't think Project Zoo offers anything unique to the formula outside its theming. The weapons are cute but invite unfavorable comparisons with Ratchet & Clank. Gromit has a decently robust moveset, including an analogue to Mario's side somersault, but most of his moves feel stiff; Gromit definitely jumps more like an Ice Climber than a Plumber. That extended sequence in the Zebra Enclosure(?) is fun, though; running on an endless track through the belly of a great machine makes for a very Aardman set piece. But notice how it leans more on weapon-puzzles than platforming challenges?
Okay, but, like, speaking of that machine, you're spending the whole run trying to keep a cute baby polar bear with glasses from getting hurt. And if you fail, you have to watch the poor little guy get hurt and keel over! It's so heartbreaking!
Alright, alright. If you're looking for more Wallace & Gromit, this game will fit the bill nicely. If you're just looking for a 3D platformer, you could do better. But it ain't bad, and between its short length and solid variety of mechanics and set pieces, it shouldn't have trouble holding your interest.
The game definitely gets what it means to do Wallace & Gromit in the context of a video game. You play as Gromit and not Wallace; Wallace's contributions are in the inventions and weapons (all food-based, naturally) and in trying but largely failing to be part of the action pieces. There's very little dialogue, with most vocal lines delivered by an unsupportive narrator and Wallace monologuing to Gromit. Feathers McGraw - the penguin from "The Wrong Trousers" - is back, with the game's story acting as a sequel to his debut short. There are throwaway nods to the shorts scattered throughout, like the box of "Meatabix" (completely missed that pun as a kid). And as a cute legacy nod, animal designs are reused from "Creature Comforts" where applicable.
There's also a motif throughout of the game sneaking in nods to other video games. It's all on the sly, so don't expect any big parodic send-ups like you'd see out of Conker or Asterix. But if you're paying attention, you'll catch that the first room of the Panda enclosure is specifically homaging Metal Gear Solid, down to the sight gag involving Mei Ling's Codec number, and the Penguin enclosure boss fight being an Asteroids nod, down to the ice floes having the distinct wedge missing like the original Asteroids. It's my favorite type of reference humor, where they're made unobtrusively, and the game maintains its integrity even if you don't get it.
Like, they have a gorilla throwing barrels - the single most stock "I'm referencing a video game" joke you see in media. But it doesn't feel trite because the gorilla throwing the barrel isn't underlined by the text of the work; it's just part of the tapestry of the game world. It makes sense for the gorilla to throw barrels in the context of the narrative: Feathers has enslaved the other zoo animals to do his bidding and perform menial tasks; mindlessly chucking barrels as an ambiguous part of some machine is right in line with that. Does it matter if it's a reference? Nah, but that just makes it a cute shout-out.
I'll say the game's rarely interesting as a platformer. Platformers tend to be the safest genre you can develop in, and I don't think Project Zoo offers anything unique to the formula outside its theming. The weapons are cute but invite unfavorable comparisons with Ratchet & Clank. Gromit has a decently robust moveset, including an analogue to Mario's side somersault, but most of his moves feel stiff; Gromit definitely jumps more like an Ice Climber than a Plumber. That extended sequence in the Zebra Enclosure(?) is fun, though; running on an endless track through the belly of a great machine makes for a very Aardman set piece. But notice how it leans more on weapon-puzzles than platforming challenges?
Okay, but, like, speaking of that machine, you're spending the whole run trying to keep a cute baby polar bear with glasses from getting hurt. And if you fail, you have to watch the poor little guy get hurt and keel over! It's so heartbreaking!
Alright, alright. If you're looking for more Wallace & Gromit, this game will fit the bill nicely. If you're just looking for a 3D platformer, you could do better. But it ain't bad, and between its short length and solid variety of mechanics and set pieces, it shouldn't have trouble holding your interest.
During one of the levels where you had to control a helicopter-like device when I brutally exploded, the losing horns played two seconds later and I gave the biggest guffaw I've ever had.
There is no reason a Wallace & Gromit game should be this good. It's very janky, Wallace is a bit dumb but like... this is a competent platformer. The levels are varied and fun, it's got the WnG charm, there's a lot to love here. Also the speedrun for this game is hype as hell.
Still love it and still have a soft spot for the general theme & feel of everything, but I am getting sick of Gromit's slippery platforming & some obtuse direction so I need to break before I try to finish it (Volcano level kinda stinks).
Ratchet and Clank pero sin la diversión