Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo

by Frontier Developments

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008KUA7
• Item Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 18, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,277 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Nick Park's marvelous clay-animation characters Wallace and Gromit translate well to videogaming in Project Zoo. The villainous penguin Feathers McGraw (from The Wrong Trousers) has abducted numerous baby animals, and it's up to Gromit to set them free by running, jumping, and using various gadgets around and below the zoo. The player controls the dog-turned-action-hero Gromit, while Wallace follows along, fixing machinery and building quirky gizmos. The five levels look great (though low-lighting situations are murky) and are very large, with a terrific 3-D feel--Gromit can wander almost anywhere he wants, and he climbs ladders, swings on and slides down ropes, and swims. On the downside, the heavy emphasis on timed jumping can get tedious, and the game has an odd tendency to suddenly shift camera angle, which can make jumping even harder. Bonus levels are very tough, but fortunately the player can back out without completing them. Likewise, puzzles are sometimes tough, but not always required to complete the level (plus, there are often hints if you're paying attention). There are also a number of arcade-like diversions that can be skipped then tried on your next pass through the game, which increases the replay value.

Although it can get a little scary, kids who enjoy the films should like the game too, as the characters look and sound familiar (kudos for getting Peter Salis to return as the voice of Wallace), there's a lot of humor taken from the films, and heck, rescuing baby animals is a worthwhile thing to do. For those concerned about violence, it's worth noting that Gromit never has to fight living creatures, just robots. Project Zoo is recommended for those looking for a family game, or for fans of the films. --David Horiuchi

Pros:

• Three-dimensional world that allows you to go almost anywhere you want, swing on and slide down ropes, swim, etc.
• A sense of fun that evokes the movies, and Peter Salis returns as the voice of Wallace
• Fun for kids

Cons:

• Too much timed jumping
• Sudden shifts in camera angle
• Only three save-game slots, and you need an empty one to start a new game

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo, November 9, 2003

By 

"lynnr62" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo (Video Game)

This game starts out as very fun, but the more you play the harder the levels become, and I mean TOO hard. I played this game with my boyfriend and we are both very good gameplayers in our 20's, and even we were having the worst time beating the levels near the end of the game. There are a lot of tricky parts near the harder levels that I had to play around 7-10 times over again, sometimes more, in order to complete. This game became more frustrating than fun after a while, because you had to move so precisely it became almost impossible to move on to the next part.

Another really frustrating part of the game was that as you moved Gromit through the levels, when you get to a hard part where you need to adjust the camera angle in order to complete the task sucessfully all of a sudden the camera angle moves, and it became really hard to adjust back. This would happen EVERY TIME you needed to do a tricky task.

And another note, the game does look very beautiful in the beginning, inside this tropical green pretty looking place, but the next few levels have very ugly scenery, one is a rusty mine, and the ugly scenery does not improve the enjoyment of the game.

My best advice would be that if you want an accurate review of the game, make sure the reviewer has played through more than 1/2 of the game. The game is VERY decieving through the beginning.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wallace and Gromit battle Feathers again, October 23, 2003

By 

"abrenkus80" (Ashtabula, OHio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo (Video Game)

Any fan of Wallace and Gromit will love this game. The game starts with a long intro to set up any non-fan with the important characters, and introduce the player to the off-kilter storyline Wallace and Gromit are famous for. Feathers McGraw takes over the West-Wallaby Zoo and all it's animals. Your job, as Gromit, is to assist Wallace in freeing the animals and especially Wallace's adopted polar bear (part of an adopt-a-bear program). The game-play is very fun, fluid and fully of silly gadgets. I enjoyed it fully and think most who play it would agree. peace.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Call it a 2.5 rounded up, August 8, 2004

By 

G. Rhodes "whst1969" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo (Video Game)

I like Wallace and Grommit. I don't like Wallace and Grommit the game so much. The graphics are decent and the sound is ok overall with some fluctuations. This isn't really an adult game which is surprising because it gets very hard at times...way too hard for kids. Kids don't play this game with an adult, because you will hear alot of cussing. Now for the biggest problem the camera angles....yeahhhh! The camera has a mind of its own sometimes....a big detraction from the gameplay.