Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo

Written by Leigh Culpin  on November 19, 2003

Full Review: Is a game based on a TV show based on a УclaymatedФ interpretation of real life supposed to be a УclaymatedФ interpretation of real life or a digital interpretation of clay?

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With three Oscar nominations and two of the statues under their belts, Nick Park, Peter Lord and David Sproxton have enjoyed the infamy of their stop-motion animated characters, Wallace and Gromit, since 1989. Now, 14 years after the first incarnation of the memorable characters, an adventure game based upon the series has finally been released.

For the unaware, the animated films provide entertainment for young and old alike Ц the young are entertained by a variety of wacky gadgets and characters and many almost subliminal jokes sprout throughout the films for the attentive adult. Wallace, a cheese-loving, odd-minded inventor is the less mentally apt of the two, while his partner, Gromit (who happens to be a dog) is somewhat of a genius and also the only thing between Wallace and a whole load of trouble. These two are the last line of defense against a sinister penguin, Feathers McGraw, who finds delight in doing such things as, say, enslaving zoo animals and forcing them to dig for diamonds in a get-rich-quick scheme. Enter Project Zoo.

This over-the-shoulder adventure throws you in the role of Gromit (naturally since Wallace is about as competent as a turtle in a 100 meter dash when it comes to doing anything but some rather creative inventing) through a series of Zoo located habitats in an attempt to find and save the duo's adopted Polar Bear, Archie. Along the way you'll end up rescuing a variety of enslaved zoo animals from McGraw's dastardly grip thanks to a little bit of team work, some rather interesting inventions and a lot of collecting.

Growing up with a NES and then Sega threw a lot of good kids games my way Ц Mario and Sonic truly were some of the best games I can remember playing. Nowadays, however, kids seem to start shooting and running people over at younger and younger ages due to the complete and utter lack of innocent, and more importantly, fun, adventure games (especially on the Xbox). W&G isn't the quintessential solution for this lack of gaming goodness by any stretch of the imagination, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

My main grief with this game is actually its difficulty level Ц it's kind of excessive for a kid's game, due mainly to somewhat convoluted level design. Having said that, the reason for this is clear Ц the style of the levels is always interesting and somewhat entertaining, even stealing a chuckle from me now and again. The problem really is that trying to create interesting linear levels which give an illusion of open-ended game play can make for a lot of УAlright, now what?Ф situation, which is really what I mean by the game's difficulty level: the hardest part is always trying to figure out where to go and what to do next. Luckily this isn't a constant problem, but one that only appears during some levels despite the nature of the game, namely collecting.

Sonic had rings. Mario had coins. Gromit has nuts, bolts, tools and a myriad of other items. Often you'll come across a damaged device which will require a certain number of said items (bolts for example) for Wallace to fix. Once you have enough, getting Wallace to perform the action is simple enough Ц just hit the Y button. Interestingly enough, Wallace's AI is actually rather impressive Ц he knows he to use elevators, climb up and down short drop-offs, and I have not once seen him get stuck. He doesn't actually constantly follow you around; he'll stay where you leave him unless you whistle for him (again, by using the Y button), which is nice because it keeps him from getting in the way. However, many puzzles require Wallace's aid Ц two floor switches side by side or a button across a chasm are not rare occurrences. Wallace always manages to know what to do in any given situation and using him is crucial to advancing in the game.

It's also crucial for updating your arsenal Ц Wallace will create porridge and banana guns, spring boots and even a Gyrocopter for your animal-freeing adventure from a wide variety of ordinary (to a degree anyways) objects. While there are indeed УweaponsФ in the game, they're actually used more often for hitting high-up switches and the like than shooting at enemies, since there really aren't that many aside from the occasional monkey, some toy penguins and a few boss battles. Nonetheless, Gromit has a surprisingly wide variety of penguin-fighting moves, such as an array of kicks, backflips, rolls and even the useless but impressively animated ability to breakdance. Go dog go.

Considering that the team behind the original flicks won their Oscars for short animated films, one would expect that the game has similarly good animation in it. And this is indeed the case: Gromit's facial expressions are extraordinary, Wallace moves just as he does in the films, and all of the games characters and entities are animated with such life that you could almost think you're watching motion capture of a dog running on two legs at times (note that the visuals would regularly be rated an 8 but I'm adding an additional .5 for the animations, they're that good). The sound is similarly well-done, with the voice Peter Sallis returning once again to give Wallace that naяve inventor's banter the character is so well-known for. The information boxes throughout the game are well dubbed and the sounds and soundtrack all do their jobs nicely.

Truth be told, before I had played the game for long at all I realized it felt like I was playing an interactive Disneyland ride in a warped version of Toon Town, as the objectives and methods through which you complete them are all very surreal yet entertaining in a rather pleasant yet simple way.