Wallace And Gromit: Muzzled [XBLA, PC]

Posted November 15, 2009 by Benjamin Blank in Featured, Featured Home, PC, Reviews, Xbox 360.

Reviewed on the Xbox 360

It wasn’t till about half way through The Last Resort (the second of the Wallace and Gromit episodes) that I realized these titles are undeniably addictive. Maybe my childhood love for the duo was being brought out; maybe I was really enjoying the atmosphere of the title. Or perhaps taking a break from all those fighting games I play for something more puzzle based was doing me well. Whatever it was, the fact remains that the Wallace and Gromit episodes are after a while, quite irresistible.

Muzzled is no exception, and in a way it feels a little redundant to review the title, mostly because of the fact that if you like any of the four episodes you’ll probably find yourself with all of them eventually. As with the other titles, the only difference here is the scenario.

Muzzled does, however, have all of the benefits The Last Resort sported over Fright of the Bumblebees. Improved frame rate for one, along with a much wider focus on the town than the duo themselves, if somewhat less than the previous episode, The Last Resort.

The story follows on from The Last Resort, with the storm that took place in that episode destroying the dog shelter. A mysterious man known as Monty Muzzle comes into town with the intention of raising money to fix the shelter by hosting a Carnival. However, all is not what it seems, as from the get-go it’s obvious Muzzle isn’t exactly the kind soul he puts himself across as.

Like before the game is set up into four chapters, with the first finding Wallace and Gromit working on an ice cream van that can produce any flavour depending on what is introduced to the machines mechanisms. Things go awry when three dogs come flying in and scatter various parts of the machine.

Muzzle eventually shows up and offers to take the dogs in, and the game shifts to the actual carnival. By now the length of these titles is just something you’ll have to deal with, and Muzzled is no different in that aspect; however, the main issue with The Last Resort was that it was far too easy. Muzzled is definitely tougher on the brain; as the majority of the game is based around the carnival’s attractions, it gives the game a lot of room to flex its creative muscles.

The set pieces, such as the carnival itself, are a definite highlight as well, with some interesting and clever puzzles based around the workings of the various attractions. There’s one attraction that pits you against a chicken in a game of Noughts and Crosses that I found myself trying to beat for a good while, until I eventually figured it out. In fact, most puzzles here have a great knack of being really obvious when you figure them out, but quite daunting when you haven’t, which is the essence of a good puzzle game.

While the puzzles are distinctly better the story isn’t so; Muzzle, for example, is a great personality (if a little too obvious,) but the other residents don’t really hit the spot light as much as they did in The Last Resort. And the game suffers for it. As eventually Muzzle’s true intentions come out and Gromit gets wound up in the middle of it all as Wallace is hopelessly dragged along.

Too much here feels like Wallace and Gromit’s own adventure around the residents, which isn’t a bad thing, but following on the great performances in The Last Resort, it is a shame that they’ve taken a step back. But what is here of them is definitely some of the best parts, and as always the game is packed full of humour, personality and that great atmosphere of the Wallace and Gromit universe is intact and present.

And ultimately Muzzled is a great follow on from the previous episodes, and it’s clear by now that these episodes shouldn’t really be judged by their own merits as they all feel like different stages of an overall adventure (although not dependant on each other in any other way). What is missing from each episode is overly present in another, and by themselves the titles all suffer for that.

You just can’t shake the feeling that all of these episodes should’ve been released together, on disc or as one big download. However, that’s not to say these episodes don’t work on their own at all, as they do and Muzzled does just as much as the others. The issues with control is still present, as is the short length and high price (which ultimately has kept all three episodes out of the 9.0 area so far). Still, Muzzled is a great piece of gaming, it’s well in line with the other two, though it’s hard to say if it’s better as each brought something unique to the table.

Muzzled has tougher puzzles and better set pieces than the second episode, but not as much as the first; however, the focus on the town’s people is greater than the first, so it’s hard to compare. Ultimately all four of these episodes should be purchased for the complete package, but gamers with the wallet to only compensate for one should really start at the beginning.

Tagged as Muzzled, telltale games, Wallace and Gromit, Wallace And Gromit: Grand Adventures, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade