WALL.E

Having shown their chops with previous Pixar-based games like The Incredibles, Heavy Iron Studios is looking to replicate their success with their latest Disney-Pixar licensed game, Wall-E. Published by THQ, Wall-E is a charming action-platformer-puzzler game that puts you in the lead as Wall-E, a little robot who finds himself all alone in a huge world. In the preview build, the game does a fine job of emulating the look of the upcoming animated film, while offering up some pretty fun gameplay elements.

For those yet unfamiliar with the story of the upcoming movie, Wall-E finds the tiny robot in charge of cleaning up the entire planet Earth soon after the whole population has vacated the planet in search of more hospitable worlds. All by himself, Wall-E has to clean up while dodging a variety of different pitfalls and even meet a new visitor, another robot named EVE.

The gameplay in Wall-E is pretty light action-platforming fare, but has some nice puzzle elements thrown into the mix. You’ll usually have to activate machines in order to get to the next area, often by gathering up cubes of junk and using them with objects in the environment, or by going through various platforming puzzles. At times, Wall-E will have to roll up into a cube and navigate through certain areas while trying not to fall through a hole or off of a ledge.

There are a few sections in the game that put you in control of EVE. These sections are a bit more action-oriented, as Eve has the ability to fly and packs a blaster for destroying certain items and getting to new areas. Additionally, EVE can also provide Wall-E with a nice boost, carrying him to new areas with her flight ability.

Graphically, the game looks really good, with some great graphical effects like depth of field that truly give you an impression of the scope and size of the world. The environments are quite detailed, and the character models sport the charm and personality of the film’s characters.

The game’s score is also pretty good, approaching the game with a sense of lightheartedness and keeps in with the overall theme of the game. The sound effects are also pretty spot-on, from the robotic “voice” work to the general noises.

Wall-E is shaping up to be a solid licensed title with a great sense of personality and fun gameplay that should appeal to fans of the film. Look for it to release next month.