WOW, what a mess of a licensed game. It's a slog, a jumble of parts that don't really gel, and altogether not worth anyone's time, even for fans of the movie.
Let's start with the most pressing issue, the camera. Games of this caliber are not known for quality cameras, and this is no exception. At first, it's passable, but as soon as you get a high-jump ability it all goes out the window. To use this ability, you must rhythmically hammer the jump button, and every time you jump, the camera tries to reorient itself behind you. This, of course, results in a disorienting experience. You later get the ability to fly which further compounds the issue.
Second are the special abilities. Charlie controls fine enough outside the camera in terms of movement, but the abilities are another story. The only fun one is a Super Monkey Ball knockoff, and even then it's much too slippery for the cramped quarters you're forced to use it in. The ability to fly is a bit enjoyable but, as to be expected, its quite floaty. The worst of the bunch is the "ability" to drop these horrible squirming little things that supposedly attract enemies, used exactly once when you're made to lure robots onto platforms that drop into pits. Not only do the enemies rarely follow the lures like you want them to, the unsettling little creatures will crawl away from the platform almost immediately. Combine that with a delay between the robot walking onto the platform and the trapdoor opening and you have the perfect recipe for hair-pulling frustration.
You also have the ability to direct Oompa-Loompas around, which is novel for a bit but ends up feeling pointless as they take very little wrangling. The mechanic only ends up causing yet more frustration as the little fellows have a tendency to walk off platforms or be kidnapped by robots, especially when they're in the middle of a task.
There are a lot of other little annoyances, like the music often not looping properly, the narrator not being loud enough/subtitled in cutscenes, and, worst of all, the fact that you can't seem to go back to finished levels after beating the game despite the fact the game implies you can with the glass elevator buttons. Yes, I had a 100% run robbed from me because I couldn't go back to level 1 to pick up fewer collectibles than you can count on your fingers. Lovely.
There is a single ray of sunshine in this game, and it is Wonka's dialogue, which is exactly the correct level of hilariously unhinged. If you really like the movie just go watch the cutscenes on YouTube or something. Avoid this game.
Let's start with the most pressing issue, the camera. Games of this caliber are not known for quality cameras, and this is no exception. At first, it's passable, but as soon as you get a high-jump ability it all goes out the window. To use this ability, you must rhythmically hammer the jump button, and every time you jump, the camera tries to reorient itself behind you. This, of course, results in a disorienting experience. You later get the ability to fly which further compounds the issue.
Second are the special abilities. Charlie controls fine enough outside the camera in terms of movement, but the abilities are another story. The only fun one is a Super Monkey Ball knockoff, and even then it's much too slippery for the cramped quarters you're forced to use it in. The ability to fly is a bit enjoyable but, as to be expected, its quite floaty. The worst of the bunch is the "ability" to drop these horrible squirming little things that supposedly attract enemies, used exactly once when you're made to lure robots onto platforms that drop into pits. Not only do the enemies rarely follow the lures like you want them to, the unsettling little creatures will crawl away from the platform almost immediately. Combine that with a delay between the robot walking onto the platform and the trapdoor opening and you have the perfect recipe for hair-pulling frustration.
You also have the ability to direct Oompa-Loompas around, which is novel for a bit but ends up feeling pointless as they take very little wrangling. The mechanic only ends up causing yet more frustration as the little fellows have a tendency to walk off platforms or be kidnapped by robots, especially when they're in the middle of a task.
There are a lot of other little annoyances, like the music often not looping properly, the narrator not being loud enough/subtitled in cutscenes, and, worst of all, the fact that you can't seem to go back to finished levels after beating the game despite the fact the game implies you can with the glass elevator buttons. Yes, I had a 100% run robbed from me because I couldn't go back to level 1 to pick up fewer collectibles than you can count on your fingers. Lovely.
There is a single ray of sunshine in this game, and it is Wonka's dialogue, which is exactly the correct level of hilariously unhinged. If you really like the movie just go watch the cutscenes on YouTube or something. Avoid this game.