Written and Contributed by Tony Dimovski
Let me start off by saying that since watching “The Wrong Trousers” in 6th grade I have been a Wallace and Gromit fan, and that’s why I was so excited to give “Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures” a try. This review spans the first two episodes, Fright of the Bumblebees and The Last Resort.
In Fright of the Bumblebees you get to solve puzzle after puzzle, involving Wallace’s wild and wacky contraptions, to help save their honey business. Unfortunately, Wallace’s idea to use giant flowers, ends up creating giant bees, putting the town in extreme peril, and its up to you to save the day!
In The Last Resort Wallace and Gromit again find themselves in a difficult situation as they try to turn their basement into a successful beach resort!
The episode starts with the summer plans of the residents of West Wallaby Street dashed by stormy weather. Wallace has another one of his classic, brilliant ideas, when he decide to turn his basement into a vacation getaway and sell tickets to their neighbors. The episode takes an unexpected turn and becomes a classic “Whodunit” caper when one of the guests gets knocked on the head by an unknown assailant.
Ultimately the gameplay of both is a point and click style adventure in the same vein of TellTale’s other hits Sam and Max and Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People.
Pros
– Captures the stop motion type feel of the films
– Easy to control characters and gameplay
– Clever puzzles and interesting contraptions
– Addictive
Cons
– The stop motion style animations at times felt uncomfortably chopy
– The puzzles can become a tad redundant
– Purist Wallace and Gromit fans might find the storylines a bit disjointed form the type of storyline found in the films
If you enjoy interesting puzzle solving and entertaining inventions then you will probably enjoy these. Unfortunately after you get rolling the puzzles don’t seem to get any more difficult as the games go on, and in the end lose a good deal of their luster (although the puzzles in the Last Resort are a bit more challenging than in the Fright of the Bumble Bees).
All in all these are a solid effort in capturing the magic of Wallace and Gromit in a game, and whether you are a true fan or not, there are far worse ways you can spend your time than helping your favorite stop motion characters get out of hairy situations.
Wallace & Gromit is published by Telltale Games
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