![]() ![]() One year ago, Namco’s outside-the-box development wunderkind Keita Takahashi released the PlayStation 3 title Noby Noby Boy, an experimental quasi-game that didn’t do especially well on Sony’s expensive, high-end console. The free Alice in Wonderland Lite version gives you two levels to explore the tedium for yourself. Given Tim Burton’s and Lewis Carroll’s vivid source material, Disney could have done so much better with this title it has half the smarts, little of the mystery, and none of the emotive aesthetics it could easily have offered. The developer tries to add some depth by letting you collect various items, but they’re added to a journal that has little purpose, poor art, and simple text descriptions similarly, the journal lets you take photos, visit GPS destinations (all Disney parks), and use specific calendar dates to unlock more of the tiny, unimpressive art content. Touch Alice to switch from one rabbit to the other, freeze one box here, move another there, then repeat make something disappear with the cat, move a platform into its place, switch back to Alice, and hope that you don’t jump wrong the game’s simple left, right, and jump arrow buttons combine with the frequent character switching to create a stilted experience that’s anything but smooth.īarely animated character artwork, on-screen riddles that do little to further the game, and detailed but repetitive backgrounds that all feel very similar to one another come together to provide an experience that will be tolerable for some kids, but a drag for teenagers and adults. Shrinking and enlarging potions are found early on, as well.īut as fun as some of those gameplay concepts may seem, Disney’s implementation manages to make puzzle-solving feel more like a chore than fun. Mirrors-looking glasses-enable Alice to pass between worlds, and the game repeatedly has you reconstructing broken mirrors from pieces scattered across the stages. You control Alice, who moves primarily from left to right through flat 2-D worlds, interacting with simple platforming puzzles that require you to switch characters: the March Hare will pull boxes or platforms from one place to another, enabling you to reach heights, the White Rabbit can freeze or unfreeze items in time, the “invisible” Cheshire Cat can make items appear and disappear, and the Mad Hatter can shift items from Wonderland to its darker mirror image world. It’s based on the widely anticipated Tim Burton film of the same name, and though it has some of the expected elements-creepy Danny Elfman music, the Cheshire Cat, two rabbits, and the Mad Hatter-it’s ultimately a dull, stilted game with little of the dramatic visual appeal found in the movie’s trailers. ![]() Disney’s Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond The Mirror ($5) isn’t one of the great ones, or even the good ones. Games based on movies, TV shows, and comic books have built-in audiences that enable developers-at least, some developers-to skimp on the sort of polish that differentiates truly great titles from good or average ones for that reason, it’s rare that a licensed game, such as the recent console release Batman: Arkham Asylum, is ever universally lauded as fantastic. ![]() ![]() Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond The Mirror, and Lite ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |