Sat, 03/28/2009 – 18:02 — matt
Telltale Games is at it again! March 24th saw them kick start another series of downloadable point and click adventure games, this time based on Wallace and Gromit, the British claymation series of films about an inventor and his long-suffering canine lab assistant. Like their previous efforts (such as the Sam and Max seasons and Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People), Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures is, essentially, a series of puzzles connected by an absurd and hilarious story, broken up into easily digestible episodes. The first of the four episodes, "Fright of the Bumblebees" is an excellent start to the new project, featuring mad cap inventing antics and plenty of challenging, but logical, puzzles.
After some introductory puzzles that acclimate players to the mechanics and setting for the game, "Fright of the Bumblebees" follows Wallace and Gromit as they perfect a machine that allows bees to mass produce honey, trying to be in time for a delivery to a local crumpet festival. The world of Wallace and Gromit fits very well into the adventure game format, as Wallace solves puzzles attempting to get his inventions to work as intended and Gromit goes around cleaning up the mess that these contraptions inevitably cause.
The character models and animation are spectacular, especially for the title characters. The animation for Gromit in particular is able to capture his subdued, and hilarious, expressions. All the characters in the game are textured to look like they are made of clay, and certain areas of the game look like they could be taken out of the movies. This doesn't persist throughout the whole game, as exterior scenes are a little less polished, but most of the game looks spectacular.
Like any point and click adventure game, the game can get very frustrating when a puzzle seems unsolvable. Luckily, Wallace and Gromit handle these smoothly, prompting the player towards the right solution without directly giving it away. The first method of help is a key that highlights all areas of interest on screen, which helped a lot when I felt like like I had explored an entire area, but had, in fact, missed out on an object that would help me solve the puzzle. The second method has non-player characters gradually drop hints about possible solutions to the puzzle. This is adjustable in the game settings, and is done in a way where everybody remains in character, and is subtle enough that there is still satisfaction in solving puzzles, even if you did get a little nudge from the other characters.
Controls aren't quite as "point and click" as some of Telltale's previous work. Now the player controls the character using direction keys, WASD keys, or a gamepad (the game will eventually be available for XBox over Xbox Live Arcade), while the selection and use of objects is handled using the usual point and click interface of the mouse. The controls still come naturally, and fit the game very well.
This first episode of the Wallace and Gromit adventures lasts a couple of hours, and can either be played through easily in one sitting, or broken up into tinier chunks, as the game features four major sections, three of which are subdivided into different puzzles. The game seems to autosave whenever you make any progress, which makes it easy to walk away if you are stumped, or run out of time to play. Despite the short length, the entire four episode run only costs $29.95 off of the Telltale Website, and at less than $10 per episode, the series provides an excellent value for your gaming dollar.
"Fright of the Bumblebees" looks like the start of another promising series of episodic adventure games from Telltale. With good doses of humor and British charm, Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures provide an excellent experience for adventure gamers, and any fan of the Wallace and Gromit animated films looking for some interactive entertainment would be well served by the game.
ComicsOnline.com gives "Fright of the Bumblebees" from Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures 4.5 out of 5 crazy contraptions.
(Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures: Fright of the Bumblebees is available for download for the PC from www.telltalegames.com. The next episode is coming in May. The series will also, eventually, be coming to XBox Live Arcade.)
