Wall-E: break out the videogame cliches handbook

Keycards? Check. Exploding barrels? Check. Tedious boss battles? Check and check.

As I wrote in my just posted review, THQ and Heavy Iron's adaptation of "Wall-E" has all those elements, which is maybe not all that surprising for a family movie adaptation, but particularly disappointing given how quirky and original and romantic the new Pixar animated movie is.

Just take a look at the screenshot  above. Yes, that's the cuttle little robot "Wall-E" running around with a laser gun mowing guys down. As if he's Master Chief or something.

Sure, I can appreciate that turning "Wall-E" into a game isn't as easy as "Cars" or "Kung Fu Panda." But "Wall-E" is such a thoughtful and inspiring movie, and the film's huge commercial potential so certain to generate initial interest in the game, that it seems like a great opportunity to take some risks and prove that a videogame based on an animated film doesn't have to be a lame collection of game mechanics that were boring 10 years ago pumped out with plenty of problems in order to meet a release date.

But that's exactly what the "Wall-E" game is. Plus it takes less than five hours to finish. Even by the standard of licensed kids' games, that's really weak.

Here's an excerpt from my review, which runs in tomorrow's Daily Variety:

Developer Heavy Iron certainly had a tough task in adapting "Wall-E" into a game. This isn't "Cars" or "Kung Fu Panda," where the toon naturally fits into an existing game genre. But turning Wall-E into a "Master Chief"-like killing machine with a laser or sending Eve on timed flying races isn't the answer. Puzzle solving more naturally fits Wall-E's inquisitive personality, but the game's puzzles are so straightforward and repetitive that they won't challenge anyone old enough to hold onto a controller.

And you can read the whole thing here.