Wallace and Gromit Episode 2: The Last Resort (Xbox 360) Review
Review: Wallace and Gromit Episode 2: The Last Resort
This review was written by Mark Brown.
We Brits are often at the mercy of the fickle weather, plagued by stormy summers and nagging rain clouds. The same goes for Gromit; eager to get his tan on, with beach ball and sunglasses at the ready, Wallace’s faithful beagle finds his summer hols well and truly cancelled when the heavens open and a torrential downpour leaves him moping inside.
But, always on the lookout for invention inspiration and money making schemes, Wallace redecorates his entire West Wallaby Street house into an impromptu beach resort. There’s a comical photo booth in the living room, a water slide in the bedroom and a sandy beach for tanning and sandcastles in the pair’s waterlogged basement.
But nothing goes quite as planned, as Wallace should be used to by now, and his foray into the hospitality business leaves fuming customers, naughty beach bullies and a who dunnit mystery.
Just like the formula set in Fright of the Bumblebees, Telltale’s first Wallace and Gromit adventure, The Last Resort is a short and relaxed point and click adventure that sees Aardman Animation’s famous duo pair up to solve problems and mysteries in West Wallaby Street. Wallace concocts some harebrained moneymaking scheme, only to land the pair in a spot of bother and for Gromit to clean up the mess.
The puzzles are generally well thought out and clearly communicated, with Telltale’s famous hint system dropping clues and suggestions subtly. The Last Resort also throws in some new dialogue based puzzles for a change of pace. The dialogue is well written and captures the witty, delicate humour of the TV show, and new character Duncan McBiscuit, a ginger Scot, is a welcome addition to the cast.
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The Last Resort has unfortunately not heeded the technical problems that plagued the first game’s Xbox Live Arcade debut; erratic frame rate issues and poor controls rear their ugly heads again, making it tough to recommend this port over the PC original.
Like all of Wallace and Gromit’s ‘Grand Adventures’, they’re rarely adventurous and they’re hardly ever grand. Mulling about in Wallace’s sleepy British village is a far cry from the wacky scenarios that made the TV features so enjoyable. With each story being told in isolation, they can take hours to reach the stride that makes them evocative of the animation.
They’re also far tamer than any of Telltale’s back catalog; more witty than Sam and Max’s laugh out loud hilarity, more narrative focussed than Strong Bad’s mini game and item collection and far more docile than Tales of Monkey Island’s epic Caribbean-trotting adventure.
Final Thoughts
It leaves Wallace and Gromit players with an enjoyable afternoon’s entertainment, but not an entirely memorable point and click adventure. It’s a great experience for Wallace and Gromit fans, but those not so familiar with the clay-mated duo should perhaps play Telltale’s superior series before diving in.
Last Resort, specifically, is one of the high points of the Wallace and Gromit series with some clever and impressive puzzles, a great concept and a generally well paced narrative.
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Brutal Gamer’s review of Wallace and Gromit Episode 3 titled ‘Muzzled’. This review was written by Mark Brown. Another day, another rotten situation for master inventor Wallace and his right hand man, Gromit. West Wallaby Street has been overrun by homeless canines since the local dog shelter was destroyed, leaving…
Wallace and Gromit Episode 2: The Last Resort (Xbox 360) Review
Review: Wallace and Gromit Episode 2: The Last Resort This review was written by Mark Brown. We Brits are often at the mercy of the fickle weather, plagued by stormy summers and nagging rain clouds. The same goes for Gromit; eager to get his tan on, with beach ball and…
09 Nov 2009, 10:25 pm
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