Wallace and Gromit: Fright of the Bumblebees
Verdict: not bad
In a Nutshell: Fright of the Bumblebees is the first episode in this adventure game series. You play as Wallace and Gromit and have just started a honey delivery service that has the town all, ahem, abuzz.
“Enter the colorful world of West Wallaby Street in a series of four cracking adventures brought to you by Aardman Animations, the creators of the Wallace & Gromit animated films, and Telltale, the award-winning studio behind Sam & Max.”
- Fun Rating: Sorta Fun
- ESRB: n/a
- Players/Mode: single-player / campaign
- Game Duration: 3-6 hours
- System: PC
- Developer: Telltale Games
- Website: http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit
- Cost: $24.95 for the season! (launch week price but also get 50% off anything else in same order)
- Demo: available from TellTale
| Would I play this again? | maybe |
| Would I recommend this game? | yes, especially if you like Wallace and Gromit |
| Was the story good? | yes |
| Was the music good? | yes |
| Were the graphics good? | yes |
| Was this game difficult? | no |
| Was this game frustrating? | no |
| Was this game offensive? | no |
| Was this game worth your time/money? | yes |
Playing the game
Using either the arrow keys or WASD will move you around as Wallace or Gromit, depending on where you are in the story. Each character is concerned with their own particular items so there’s no worry about the wrong one having something the other needs.
Select items to examine, pick up, admire, or lament over by first putting the cursor on an object and then clicking the left mouse button. Items you pick up are somehow stored on your person (do they both have bags of holding?). Pressing the “I” key will bring up your inventory.
Talking to other characters is done in much the same way. If you’ve already heard (or don’t want to hear) what they have to say on a particular subject, the conversation can be skipped through with the right mouse button.
A more exhaustive list of controls can be found on here on TellTale’s site.
What the game gets right
(dufflehead): It’s Wallace and Gromit, so that’s a boon for it off the bat, assuming you like them as much as I do. I particularly liked that the story kept moving forward instead of making you do the same thing twice or in reverse (none of the “you found the treasure but it was cursed so now you have to put it back”).
(The Tim): I enjoyed the story and the dialog, which were both witty and amusing. The art style and the voice acting brought the experience together nicely (Gromit’s expressions were especially well-done), and fit well with previous Wallace and Gromit productions on the big and small screens. I appreciated the way that the occasional “hints” (the frequency of which can be adjusted in the settings) were worked into the character’s dialog in a natural way, not breaking the feeling of immersion.
(The Tim): I also really enjoyed the brief “the story so far” summaries that were presented when you load up your saved game, as well as the descriptive actions that pop up when you float your mouse over certain items. These little touches were cleverly written and provide an extra little treat that show that the developers really put some care into this game.
What the game gets wrong
(dufflehead): Moving around in an adventure game with the keyboard felt odd, especially on the transition areas to a new environment or angle. Not that big of a detractor, just not something I was used to.
(The Tim): I agree, it was a little bit disorienting the way that they handled the keyboard controls as you transition from scene to scene. My only other real complaint is that the environment felt rather small (limited to essentially your house, your yard, and the town center), and overall the game left me wanting more—which I suppose is exactly what we’ll get over the next three to four months in the next three episodes.
Sum it up
(dufflehead): I am once again interested in trying various cheeses. The series is off to a slow start but, if the Wallace and Gromit animated shorts and the Strong Bad series are any indication, the next episode should be just, well, “crackers.”
(The Tim): My Fun Rating for Episode 1 is “Fun,” at least partly due to the fact that adventure games are one of my favorite genres. Wallace & Gromit: Fright of the Bumblebees felt like just a nibble, but it was a tasty one. I measure all adventure games against the gold standard of Grim Fandango, and although it was not a masterpiece, Wallace & Gromit was an entertaining outing in the genre.
Other games you might like to read about:
Rate this Game
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
[...] Tim): Also note that my comments about the game engine and gameplay elements from Episode 1 of course still stand for Episode [...]