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IGN Review of Where the Wild Things Are
The Where the Wild Things Are film, directed by Spike Jonze, was met with mixed reviews. But there's almost no getting around the fact that the videogame adaptation on consoles was a far-from-perfect platformer. With extremely repetitive, unexciting platforming and loads of uninteresting combat, there was little reason to pick up a copy.
Fortunately, the DS version of Where the Wild Things Are, handled by developer WayForward, is a much better adaptation of Jonze's film and the children's book it was based on. Now, using the term "much better" might lead one to believe that this is a great platformer. Where the Wild Things Are on the DS is not a great platformer. It also suffers from repetitive design and it's just not terribly exciting. With that said, it's still a respectable offering and its simple scope is suitable for the traditional 2D platforming mechanics.
In Where the Wild Things Are, players are given somewhat more context than in the console version, as Max's presence on the island of the Wild Things is partially explained. After causing trouble for his mother, Max is sent to his room and he soon sets sail (In his imagination, silly!) to the mythical land of the Wild Things. Max soon befriends the frightening but lovable creatures and helps them solve a series of troubling problems, the first of which being the disappearance of the sun. There are even more ridiculous plot points to experience, but they have nothing to do with the film or the book.
WayForward used very little touch controls when developing the control interface for Where the Wild Things Are. Players control Max with the D-pad, jump with A or B and roar with Y or X. That's pretty much all there is to it. Y and X are also used to interact with items and pick up stunned enemies (which are stunned by hearing Max's roar), and the L and R buttons can be used in conjunction with the D-pad to pan the camera around the level and give players a better view of the scene.
One of my main complaints with Where the Wild Things Are, besides the repetitive design, is with the game's controls. Although I assume WayForward wanted to keep the game simple for young players, having both the Y and X button do the same thing (in this case, roar and pick up items) can cause some frustration when you're trying to roar instead of pick up the item right next to you. This is especially bothersome in later stages when you must roar at approaching enemies when there are lava rocks all around you. Quite frustrating, indeed.
Most of the game, however, will be spent guiding Max through a series of levels that take place around the Wild Things' island. The Forest Valley serves as the game's hub and allows players to replay any level over again at their leisure. This is definitely a welcome addition, but the structure/layout of the hub could have been a bit clearer.
Gameplay in Where the Wild Things Are consists of traditional running and jumping, as well as roaring at enemies and throwing objects. Throughout the levels, there will be points where Max can travel into the foreground or background of the stage. This basically means that each level has two to three layers that can be traversed, but this mechanic does help keep things feeling fresh.
During a level, Sam will also bump into the Wild Things, which can be summoned to come along with Max and lend assistance. By touching the Wild Thing's portrait on the bottom screen, the Wild Thing in question will lend Max a particular skill. Carol, for example, can carry Max across dangerous spikes, while Judith can ram through stone walls and clear the way.
This was all well and good, until I got to the section of the game where the entire point is to go back and play most of the levels over again, combing the ground for lava rocks that need to be destroyed. Good lord is that annoying. In order to advance to the next stage, players must find every last little rock in the level and destroy it. This is not fun. The purpose of a platformer is to focus on the platforming (Go figure!), so changing the focus of the last set of stages to meticulous item destruction was not a particularly wise move.
©2009-11-05, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fortunately, the DS version of Where the Wild Things Are, handled by developer WayForward, is a much better adaptation of Jonze's film and the children's book it was based on. Now, using the term "much better" might lead one to believe that this is a great platformer. Where the Wild Things Are on the DS is not a great platformer. It also suffers from repetitive design and it's just not terribly exciting. With that said, it's still a respectable offering and its simple scope is suitable for the traditional 2D platforming mechanics.
In Where the Wild Things Are, players are given somewhat more context than in the console version, as Max's presence on the island of the Wild Things is partially explained. After causing trouble for his mother, Max is sent to his room and he soon sets sail (In his imagination, silly!) to the mythical land of the Wild Things. Max soon befriends the frightening but lovable creatures and helps them solve a series of troubling problems, the first of which being the disappearance of the sun. There are even more ridiculous plot points to experience, but they have nothing to do with the film or the book.
WayForward used very little touch controls when developing the control interface for Where the Wild Things Are. Players control Max with the D-pad, jump with A or B and roar with Y or X. That's pretty much all there is to it. Y and X are also used to interact with items and pick up stunned enemies (which are stunned by hearing Max's roar), and the L and R buttons can be used in conjunction with the D-pad to pan the camera around the level and give players a better view of the scene.
One of my main complaints with Where the Wild Things Are, besides the repetitive design, is with the game's controls. Although I assume WayForward wanted to keep the game simple for young players, having both the Y and X button do the same thing (in this case, roar and pick up items) can cause some frustration when you're trying to roar instead of pick up the item right next to you. This is especially bothersome in later stages when you must roar at approaching enemies when there are lava rocks all around you. Quite frustrating, indeed.
Most of the game, however, will be spent guiding Max through a series of levels that take place around the Wild Things' island. The Forest Valley serves as the game's hub and allows players to replay any level over again at their leisure. This is definitely a welcome addition, but the structure/layout of the hub could have been a bit clearer.
Gameplay in Where the Wild Things Are consists of traditional running and jumping, as well as roaring at enemies and throwing objects. Throughout the levels, there will be points where Max can travel into the foreground or background of the stage. This basically means that each level has two to three layers that can be traversed, but this mechanic does help keep things feeling fresh.
During a level, Sam will also bump into the Wild Things, which can be summoned to come along with Max and lend assistance. By touching the Wild Thing's portrait on the bottom screen, the Wild Thing in question will lend Max a particular skill. Carol, for example, can carry Max across dangerous spikes, while Judith can ram through stone walls and clear the way.
This was all well and good, until I got to the section of the game where the entire point is to go back and play most of the levels over again, combing the ground for lava rocks that need to be destroyed. Good lord is that annoying. In order to advance to the next stage, players must find every last little rock in the level and destroy it. This is not fun. The purpose of a platformer is to focus on the platforming (Go figure!), so changing the focus of the last set of stages to meticulous item destruction was not a particularly wise move.
©2009-11-05, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved