Wall-E: Good Movie, Bad Game

Ohh, Wall-E. A sad movie if there ever was one, but at least it was very good. Coincidentally, Wall-E the game is also sad—but for totally different reasons. It’s another bad game based on a good movie. Who’d of thunk it?

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was unable to finish it. As soon as I was forced to destroy trash in space as Eve, I quit. Before that section, I had to fly through a timed gauntlet of rings (yes, one of those). The only thing is: there was no way to tell where the next ring was going to be, and I had to guess. That’s right, guess. There are some things about this game that just make you go, “Huh?”

Remember when, in the movie, Wall-E tore off Eve’s arm and used her laser to blow up hundreds of robots? No? That’s because it’s one of the few sweet additions the game made to the film. Too bad you only shoot the same damn type of robot in the same bland hallways and rooms, over and over. The puzzles are yawn-inducingly easy and don’t require much thought (thanks to my older, smarter brain).

“Wall-E, what have you done?”

One of the things I did enjoy, though, were the flying segments where you control Eve. There’s either a big, open area to explore (like an old port or space) that has a bunch of nooks and crannies that Eve can fly through, or she can zoom through tunnels and dodge obstacles. It’s fun, even though there’s not much else to do in those areas.

Wall-E might be fun for the youngin’s, but most of us are best advised to stay away. It’s regrettably clear the publisher, THQ, was more motivated by making a profit than creating a good game that would live up to the movie. As sad and alone as Wall-E made me feel in theaters, at least Wall-E the game won’t be alone in the long list of depressing movie-based games.