Meet the Robinsons

In 2006, the movie theatres saw a slew of computer-animated movies released, nearly 12, and 2007 is shaping up to be a big year for the genre too.  One of the year’s first big releases – “Meet the Robinsons” – came from Disney.  Based on William Joyce’s illustrated children’s book, “A Day with Wilbur Robinson”, the movie’s storyline is based on an orphaned inventor, Lewis, who is in search for his birth mother.  The story picks up momentum when Lewis travels to the year 2037 and meets Wilbur Robinson.

To differentiate itself from the movie, the storyline of the game centers on Wilbur Robinson.  Wilbur is the star and for good reason – he’s one of the more interesting characters from the movie.  The outline of the game is that Wilbur has control of the time machine and is traveling through different eras.  Right off the bat, there is a warning on the back of the box – “Not all characters appear in the game.”  This may not be a big problem since there are cameos up the wazoo.  The cast of characters that show up throughout the title include the following: Carl, Cousin Laszlo, Uncle Art, Aunt Billie, Grandpa Bud, and Wilbur’s beloved mother, Franny. 

If gamers have never experienced playing a licensed video game, then they aren’t missing out on much.  Licensed video games often end up on the shallow end of the pool in depth for the gameplay.  How does Meet the Robinsons manage?  It immediately jumps in the deep end, but eventually swims to the shallow end when it’s all over.  

The gameplay of Meet the Robinsons has a distinct similarity to other adventure games such as The Legend of Zelda.   It contains everything you should expect from a third-person adventure.  There are gadgets to take advantage of, puzzles to solve, platforms to reach, and dungeons to explore.  If that isn’t enough, there are several minigames within the game.  My personal favorite has to be the futuristic version of Pong.  The minigames aren’t anything spectacular, but they’re serviceable to occupy your time with. 

One reason to play Meet the Robinsons is for the invention system.  Throughout your journey you’ll be able create and build new items for your adventure.  There’s the Disassembler that can tear any enemy into parts.  After that, the Chargeball Glove – which does exactly what it sounds like it does – charges up and attacks from a distance.  The last that is worthy of a mention is the Robinson Scanner.  The Robinson Scanner is used to find hidden areas to explore, weaknesses of enemies and when stumped, solve puzzles.  The gadgets are the glue that hold the game together and keep it interesting.  There are five gadgets in total.  It may not be the biggest selection, but I guarantee you that they all have a purpose.  Even the boss battles and particular enemies all have their weakness to a gadget, so swapping them out and testing which one works best is a must.

The animations are fluid and I have no complaints.  What I do have complaints about are the character models.  If players have watched the movie, they’ll know what I am speaking of.  The character models are mediocre when put side to side to Pixar and Dreamworks character creations.  On the flip side, the developers decided to create their own cut-scenes for the game rather than taking movie clips to fill in the plot.  This in turn creates a real purpose to discover what the game has to offer to fans of the movie.  To the delight of the fans, the cast from the movie do lend their voices for the title.  Replacement voices always ruin the fun for me, so I am glad to see voices such as Harlan Williams provide his voice to the game.

The game’s environments bear a resemblance to its movie counterpart.  There are eight environments to venture through including my favorite being the science fair.  The environments contain multilayered floors to walk around.  On top of that, each floor has its own set of puzzles and enemies.  The puzzles are simplistic and players should have no trouble figuring them out.  There is a fair share of jumping and climbing to be done, but that is expected in any 3D platformer.  The levels in general are straightforward and linear.  What’s great is that you can go back and replay them anytime you’d like to.  This stretches out the replay value a little and will allow players to find hidden items throughout the levels they previously might have missed.

The Xbox 360 version lets you earn 1,000 achievement points for your gamerscore.  It also has an extra, independent bonus game that involves shooting down flying bowler hats from a first-person perspective.   The mini game makes use of the security turrets positioned within different rooms of the Robinson house.  Is it enough to buy the 360 version alone?  Probably not, but if you were to already own a 360, it’s a nice addition.

In the end, Meet the Robinsons does the movie justice.  It has sufficient entertainment for the gamers to consider it as a rental.  I’d recommend purchasing this title if you’re a huge fan of the movie or need the next video game for your child that can’t play the adult-themed games.
 

Gameplay: 7.0

The Xbox Live achievements are there to encourage gamers to fully complete the game.

Graphics: 6.0

A little more polish with the graphics would have been great.  The developers did what they could and went the extra mile with creating their own cut scenes.

Sound: 6.5

All the actors return to provide their voices.  Most interesting is Harlan Williams and Adam West returning.  There are problems though, mainly with the transition between characters speaking.  There are no pauses between the dialogue and it’ll become confusing if you aren’t paying attention.

Difficulty: Easy

The puzzles are a breeze; even the uninitiated will be able to finish them in record time.

Concept: 6.5

Creating a video game off a movie?  Nothing a five year old couldn’t think up.  Though, I do appreciate the invention system.

Overall: 6.5

Meet the Robinsons is a good tie-in to the movie.  It’s a melting pot of several adventure games combined into one.  But, where’s the multiplayer? Multiplayer for the minigames would have made a great addition to extend the replay value of the game.