Wallace And Gromit: The Last Resort [Xbox 360, PC]

Posted November 12, 2009 by Benjamin Blank in Featured, Featured Home, PC, Reviews, Xbox 360.

Reviewed on the Xbox 360

This takes me back, I think it was my second review for BeefJack that was the of the first Wallace and Gromit adventure on XBLA, Fright Of The Bumblebees. Now after the first offered so many thrills, the rest of the series has hit Microsoft’s service, and gamers get to take another trip through West Wallaby Street with the famous duo.

The thing to note right off the bat is that not a lot has changed. In fact, these episodes aren’t sequels to each other at all, but more variations. The game controls identically to how it did before — you’ve got point and click mechanics in place, along with the ability to directly control either Wallace or Gromit, depending on the current situation.

You can pretty muc get through most of the title without having to ever control either of them if you so wish, as the D-pad will cycle through the selectable items in the environment. However, the areas require some exploration, which isn’t a bad thing as it definitely gives the game a lot more life and makes you feel like you’re playing an adventure game over a point and click one.

However, the characters don’t control perfectly, as they shudder a little, get stuck on objects occasionally, and will spin around a lot when you’re trying to aim them in the right direction. With a constantly changing camera angle in each area, it can become a nuisance. It would’ve been far more beneficial to go for pre-Resident Evil 4 “tank” controls. But it doesn’t hinder the gameplay as much as it makes things a little awkward.

The biggest reason to buy this if you’ve got the first or any of the other titles is for the scenario, each episode features a different adventure with different puzzles. And despite my dismay that The Last Resort didn’t see Wallace And Gromit having anything to do with Papa Roach or The Eagles it is a vibrant story.

Summer has come around for the residents of West Wallaby Street, but holiday plans are ruined as the predictable English weather begins to rain down. Wallace, determined not to have his sunshine spoiled, sets up a holiday resort in his house and a water park in the basement.

The game begins with you collecting items for the house as you work your way around the community. It’s a basic set up that introduces the characters that carry over from the first installment. Here, however, the focus is on the town’s residents instead of just Wallace and Gromit. For that reason alone the story is extremely satisfying, as each has a distinct and charming personality that treads the line between stereotype and parody.

Once the house is set up, Wallace decides to cash in on the venture by inviting the community to visit the resort for a small fee. What eventually develops is a Cluedo styled scenario, as one of the more outlandish holiday makers (a Scott known as McBiscuit), gets “thumped” after a spree of hilarious rudeness towards the other residents.

Everyone has a motive and it’s up to Wallace, or more correctly Gromit to convince the police constable who it was. The main issue with this, is it’s such a brilliant premise and one that you hope the game would follow into that it feels a little misguided in that you know who did it, and all you’re doing is trying to convince the others who it was; instead of figuring it out.

Another issue is the length. Like the previous title The Last Resort is far too short, and even more so than Fright Of The Bumblebees. The story cries out for more development, but it feels like it’s all over too soon. The first two chapters of this episode set it up, but everything is wrapped up by the third. In the fourth you take on a final act that is more dramatic than the rest of the title, but it’s nowhere near as clever or funny as the car chase at the end of the first episode.

The main problem with this length comes from the puzzles themselves, which are just far too easy, nothing here really had me scratching my head, as they were all just a little too obvious, and as such were completed far too quickly. But the fact remains this is a brilliant representation of the Wallace And Gromit universe, it looks fantastic with the frame rate problems of the previous title gone it plays well. The story is full of humour and great personalities that really bring the whole thing to life, even more so than FOTB because of the inclusion of giving the other residents more screen time.

If it was half the price or a little harder it would contend with the first episode or as a decent point and click adventure by its own merits, but because it isn’t the story feels like it didn’t achieve the heights it so easily could’ve. But fans of the original episode will be silly to pass this up as it’s a great follow up, though it’s weaker in comparison, resulting in a game that’s strictly for those looking for more from Wallace And Gromit.

Tagged as Grand Adventures, Papa Roach, Point and Click, telltale games, The Last Resort, Wallace and Gromit, Xbox 360