Rango: The Video Game (Wii Game Review)

Earlier this month, Nickelodeon and Paramount released a video game version of the children’s movie Rango for the Wii. The story line of the game picks up sometime after the events of the film with Sheriff Rango investigating the disappearance of his friend Bean’s father. The player needs to guide Rango through a series of nine new adventures based on his tall tales about a mysterious meteor and battles with villains that range from Bad Bill and his gang to Rattlesnake Jake. Each of these tales is a chapter within the overall storyline.

The game play alternates between third-person shooter and platforming challenges combined with richly-done cut scenes. This is a kid’s game (which my six year-old loved) so the action never gets too complex and the shooter scenes are completely separated from the platforming. The shooting scenes are all fixed position and involve clearing both fixed position enemies (who attack with guns and dynamite) and moving enemies (who attack hand-to-hand). It takes a steady hand to take out some of the smaller fixed-position enemies so some of these scenes may be challenging for the ‘smaller’ gamer. Shooting targets though reveals both health and weapons upgrade power-ups so the challenges are reasonably surmountable with a little bit of patience.



The platforming scenes are likely to be a bit more challenging for a young gamer as they require some precise movements when jumping from train car to train car (a la Indiana Jones) or between cliffs and the camera can sometimes be more of a hindrance than a help. This too is not insurmountable as the controls are very responsive and the ‘Continue’ feature of the game is extremely forgiving and often lets the player restart from the point where they had died.

The graphics, audio narrative and cut scenes are all impressive and the cinematic feel is sure to impress young fans of the movie. While the backdrop is predominately set in and around the town of Dirt, the game designers keep the backdrop from getting stale by adding some unusual settings which include an outer space scene and a scene where Rango goes inside a video game world. Adding to the visuals, the actor who provides the voice-overs for Rango sounds indistinguishable from Johnny Depp as he spouts off a number of humorous one-liners.

While the game action is too simplistic for older gamers, Rango should hold the interest of the younger gamer and the well-executed movie tie-in might even bring some new converts into the gaming world.

Links:
Rango The Video Game

CID The Dummy - Wii Game Review (Oxygen Games)

CID, the hero of this game, is a Crash Impact Dummy who feels like he has a bigger purpose in life beyond safety testing automobiles. CID's prayers are answered as his carping is overheard by inventor Professor B.M. Werken who gives CID a special suit and sends him off on a mission to rescue the professor's daughter MIA who has been kidnapped by the evil villian D-TROIT.

CID is a a 2-D platform game where you use both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk to guide CID through various environmental obstacles that include toxic pits, timed switches, electric fences, guard dogs and more. While the game is targeted to a younger audience, the controls aren't the most intuitive which will keep this game out of reach of the really young.



The game starts with an optional tutorial which is useful for understanding the controls and the range of CID's movements. Unfortunately, going through the tutorial doesn't make controlling CID any easier. Knowing what to do and being able to execute the move (while being chased by an evil droid) are two different things. The one real 'downer' about the tutorial and various cutscenes is that the professor's voice is like nails on a chalkboard...and he speaks vvveeerrryyy slowly.

Anyway -- on to the controls. Moving through the basic side-scrolling screens is very straight-forward but, when CID has to run or shoot his bazooka, it gets a good bit more complex. To shoot the bazooka, you have to swing the Wii-remote over your shoulder while holding the A button. Unfortunately, this move is too close to the puch move (which is done by vertically shaking the remote) so - too often than not - you end up with results that you weren't intending.

The problem with these unintended moves is that they can result in your falling from a ledge or getting killed by an attacking bad guy. A BIG catch when you die is that you have to replay the level (and 're-solve' all puzzles) as there are no in-level save checkpoints.

The game keeps itself interesting with some secret levels, boss levels and a driving mission (which is very "Pole Position-ish"). The secret levels are critical for loading up on health, orbs and lives as, if you have to restart the game, you start with the number of lives that you left off with - not the full quota of five lives with which you started the game. Orbs are important too as, once you colelct 10 orbs, you can launch a panic attack which kills all enemies in the area with a shock wave.

Conclusion
A decent game for younger gamers who have the patience to work through the challenges with the controls