Over the past few years, developers and publishers have been trying to push the boundaries of children’s games after lackluster releases that weren’t so warmly received. While Disney games haven’t been to the level of quality they were in the late ‘80’s (i.e. Disney’s Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, etc.), their latest release in the form of Bolt has enough to offer the kids beyond a weekend rental. So let’s dig deeper and see what this Disney Animation Film video game has to present to gamers.

Having seen Bolt at E3 last year, it was apparent then, as it is now, that Disney was attempting to create a more adult themed game. Trying to convey serious tones while maintaining its childish nature, Bolt should appeal to more than just the kiddies. Making an effort to create a full out third-person action-adventure game, Bolt allows players to control the title character along with his human companion/owner Penny.

Deviating from the movie’s storyline, the video game instead is based on if Bolt was actually a dog with super-powers. If you’ve never seen the movie, Bolt is led to believe he’s a super-powered dog since he stars in a television show. Not knowing the difference from acting and reality, Bolt is a confused dog as he embarks through the real world trying to find Penny. Now for the video game, the developers decided to expand beyond the film’s plot, revealing new characters and environments that weren’t be seen on the big screen.

Both Bolt and Penny have different gameplay techniques. Penny’s style is more about stealth and sneaking around enemies without having to engage in combat. On the other hand, Bolt is the in-your-face fighter who’ll attack anything in his sight. Bolt also comes equipped with super-powers including laser eyes to take down the enemies. Of the two, Bolt turned out to be the most exhilarating to use if I had to pick one. The super-powers are what make Bolt unique, so he’s much more fun than Penny’s stealth elements.

There’s also your typical mini-games included that are accessed when you begin to hack computers. You’ll collect power-ups and destroying enemies with a hovering tank. You can always go back to the mini-games from the main menu after unlocking them. Outside of that, Bolt is pretty standard fare with your usual boss fights and destruction of levels. Oddly enough, the game took longer to complete than originally conceived with about seven hours of gameplay in my initial run-through.

Bolt isn’t all rainbows and butterflies; there are a few bad decisions that were made when it came to the design of the gameplay. Players may complain that they aren’t able to have full control over their camera since it’s totally fixed on one position. Getting stuck behind objects and screwing up the fluidity of the combat, gamers will find it overwhelmingly frustrating when the camera goes bonkers. In addition, the graphics are also sub-par and don’t fairly represent the film.

Overall, it’s a pretty standard game with not much standing out besides the departure from the film’s storyline. It should hold the attention of children easily, but adults of course won’t look twice when going down the game aisle. If you’ve seen the movie and enjoyed it, Bolt should be worth your time for at least a weekend rental.

Gameplay: 7.0
Differentiating between Penny and Bolt in terms of gameplay and control, the game has enough entertainment value to provide children.

Graphics: 6.0
The developers didn’t do a good job putting together stable framerates nor did they attempt to create realistic fur for Bolt.

Sound: 5.0
No John Travolta + no Miley Cyrus = no sale.

Difficulty: Easy
For the difficulty, the game’s audience is generally the 13 and under crowd, so the game isn’t too difficult. 

Concept: 7.5
Departing from the normal video game adaptation route, the developers put together an interesting storyline for gamers to play through.

Overall: 6.5
While the movie was avidly more amusing, the video game is a quick fix if you’re looking for a game that’s suitable for children. It has two varied characters to use, mini-games to play through, and a storyline that’s different from the movie. If that isn’t enough to attract you for a play-through, then you might want to look elsewhere since it doesn’t do too much outside of what’s expected of it.