Customer Reviews

Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The animation and short films are classic Wallace and Grommit. The game has a great sense of humour and is enjoyable for ages 5 and up. The reasoning to figure some of the problems out might be too hard for the younger crew, but my 5 year old does quite well on it. I completed the game myself and found it challenging enough and entertaining to watch.

I agree with the one desenting opinion that it is not a great gift for a teenager or gamer that is not happy onless bodily fluids are strewn all over the screen. There is funny body humour jokes that might amuse some teenagers; such as Grommit burning his butt in the lava and one scene that lets Grommit take a rather noisy "potty break". It is, however, true to the characters from these wonderful movies and We (my wife and I and our 11, 7, and 5yr old kids)are enjoying it greatly.

If your looking for an high intensity, dark and difficult game to play then don't buy this one. This is an easy platform adventure game that has terrific graphics, sound and a sense of humor. The levels are varied and the goal is clear. There are a lot of bonus levels and you get some pretty comical weapons too. The game play is smooth, Gromit is easy to control (and cute) and most of the time the camera angles are very good. There is some puzzle solving involved which is not too difficult. If your looking for a fun, cute game to play alone or with your kids try it. And if you like dogs you'll enjoy it too. It's an adorable game. If you want dark buy Tomb Raider

Pros:
- maintains humor of the series: Fans of the clay-mation cartoons will find the usual sight gags and banter.
- good writing/character scripting and characterizations: The writers took the time to study the characters, and placed good healthy doses of personality into them.
- cut scenes are well animated: These maintain the overall feel of the clay-mation animations and move the story along nicely.
- save points are fairly generous: Saves are possible at any time, although progress only really gets saved at certain points. Still, they save it in numerous, decent locations.
- good story: Chock full of typical Wallace and Gromit adventure and humor as they do battle against Feathers McGraw once again.

Cons:
- Bad camera angles: As seems to be the case in a lot of "modern" games, particularly platformers, the camera is terrible, especially during boss battles. At times, you never see the enemy you're supposed to fight or the next jump point. Boss battles in particular have you looking at the enemy's feet/lower torso most of the time. The lack of any decent camera controls exacerbates the frustration.
- Figgity and questionable controls: The controls aren't responsive at all, unmatched only by the control layout scheme and economy of button assignments in oddness. The R1 and R2 buttons, for example, do the same move (crouch), and the L1 and L2 buttons do the same move (tap to center view, hold for first person view). This is wasteful, as a button to better control the camera or another special move could have been put in one of the button places. Repetitive controls are fine for a novice gamer, but more control options should have been included.
- Overly repetitive gameplay: Too many areas find the player doing the same things over and over again. Some areas seem to be there only to serve as "filler" in the later stages, where the player need only do a five second interaction with a lever to move on. This could have easily been incorporated into a cut scene, and more of that good dialog and story used.
- Buggy: Gromit wound up doing an "unscheduled" jump clear across the screen at times in my game. I bought the game new in the wrapper. I haven't read about this problem anywhere else, though, so it might be a rarity.
- Washed out graphics: I had to adjust the brightness on my television set for this game, despite games like Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Halo, and other "dark lit" games displaying fine.

Overall Score: 2 out of 5. Rent it, maybe, and see what you think, but buy something else for the money. That's a shame too, because the story is actually pretty good. The writing is pretty crisp and brimming with the humor that made the series enjoyable. In all honesty, the story would have been much better served as another episode/movie in the Wallace and Gromit series instead of this game.

This is a really fun game!!!!! I think it is hard enough without being so hard that you give up. If you love the Wallace and Gromit videos you will LOVE Project Zoo because everyone stays in character and everyone sounds and looks just like they do in the movies. There is a lot of puzzle soving and jumping, but not so much that you start screaming and throw your controller across the room. You can save where ever you want which is WONDERFUL!!!!!!! If you are looking for something extremely dark and challenging; this isn't the game for you, but if you just want a something that is funny and not too hard, BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!

This game is cute, humorous, and many parts were enjoyable. They did an excellent job of portraying the characters and their personalities. But the game could easily have been more fun. There were some real design flaws that made many parts of the game nothing but frustrating. Some of the designers apparently think giving you many hours of gameplay means having you play the same area over and over ... and over and over and over and over...
That's not what I'd call fun.
The game was also pretty buggy. It could have used some more playtesting but apparently was rushed out the door.

Being an owner of all three of the Wallace and Gromit "shorts," I felt this a natural title to add to my PS2 collection. Just to be sure, I rented the title, and then was convinced to buy it. The game has the look and feel of the classic series (voiced by the original actors of the series), and Wallace's comments and antics throughout the game are very amusing at times, although from a strict game play sense, Wallace is more a cheerleader, as the player plays this one-person game as "Gromit." The game is easy enough for a younger player (my four year-old son enjoys this game immensely), yet challenging enough, especially in the "bonus" rounds of every level, to provide hours of gameplay for the "hard-core" gamer. The animation is cute and has the feel of the "claymation" of the original series, and the animals that the player must rescue in each level are cute, and are in no real "danger" that might frighten a younger child. The controls are straight-forward and intuitive (my 4-year old picked them up without a manual, etc.). Each of the five levels are very vast (3 sections to each level, plus a "boss level" at the end of each level). The boss levels can be difficult, especially in the last encounter. If you are a first-person shooter type gamer, or prefer more Mature or Adult type games, then this is not for you, but if you like puzzle/problem solving games with an arcade feel and nice graphics that appeal to both young and older, then you may consider this title.

While it is nice seeing Wallace and Gromit, the gameplay itself can be disappointing. In one of the levels, Wallace is supposed to follow Gromit when you complete the tasks, but Wallace would not follow. I had to save the game, shut the game system off, and restart it up again, once in the game again Wallace finally followed Gromit. Also, some tasks can be very frustrating. Some "blind" jumps must be made from time to time. One good thing, is apparently Gromit has unlimited lives! I bought this for under $10. Pay more than that and you may regret it. For a cheap platformer it is okay, don't expect more. Though, as I said, it is nice to see Wallace & Gromit in a game.

Wow. It's amazing to see a game actually match the movie/cartoon it was based after. The animation in the game; during the between-scenes-movies and during the actual game play, completely matches the clamation Wallace and Gromit that we know and love. The actual game itself is one of the most I've ever enjoyed due to the fact that it's not simply a game where you fight baddies from one end of the level to the next. The levels of this game are chocked full of puzzles ranging from simple to downright hard. The only drawback to the game is the occasional camera trick and jumping action (ie, Gromit seems to jump a shorter distance then you think he's actually jumping) If it weren't for those couple of annoyances, it'd be a definite 5 star game!

This game is not the cute movies you see. It is okay but it has many problems including the controls and the gameplay. I would say stick to a rental on this one.

My son (then 8) wanted this game and found it relatively easy to play, i.e. he managed to get the end after a lot of playing and finally defeated the bad guy (or bad penguin Feathers McGraw actually). By easy I mean he could eventually overcome the challenges without help and his relatively poor reading ability wasn't a problem (the games not a pushover though). Main problems are falling off things into lava etc. when jumping. Game saving and life (dog biscuits) seem just right to keep the flow. The very pretty factory setting is a bit reminiscent of Indianna Jones and the Temple of Doom and although you are directed eventually in one direction you get the feeling you (Grommet) are moving about freely in 3D. The levels are mission orientated e.g. release Wallace or another good guy.