Wii Game Review: Wreck-it Ralph

There’s been a huge buzz about the latest Disney Pixar movie “Wreck it Ralph” and for good reason. I myself haven’t seen it but have watched plenty or trailers and heard many great things about it. Chances are, most people have already seen the movie and are possibly thinking about getting a video game based off the film for their child during the Holiday season knowing that it’s just been released for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo 3Ds.

My husband and I checked out and played Wreck it Ralph on the Wii this weekend and here’s a overall take on it by each things usually looked at when purchasing most video games.

The Story:  If you are looking for the game to follow the story line of the movie itself  you won’t find that.  In fact, there really wasn’t a story line to follow at all. The game after the beginning cut scene is 8-bit and between levels you’ll see standstill pictures with text and voice.  This was a bit disappointing and there wasn’t even an ending once you beat the game.  No cutscene, no story resolution, not even a credits sequence. The whole game, also, is around two hours.

The Game Play:  There are a total of 3 worlds to explore, each with different looking maps. The general game play isn’t changed by the set dressing, aside from a minor puzzle here and there. The maps are basically designed to be jumping puzzles with minor combat tossed in. You can swap between Ralph and Felix, and have to as each has abilities to do things the other can’t. There is normally a picture on the wall so you know who to switch to, because after doing the same few things the whole game, I couldn’t possibly figure it out myself.

 Music & SFX: Can we say 8-bit goodness? Yes, I have a near and dear place in my heart for hearing 8-bit video game sounds. The music I want to say was about the same every level. It was forgettable and I just wish it held a grip but it didn’t.  Also the characters voices in the background hurling insults or was that encouragement got really old after awhile.

Graphics:

The beginning intro of the game has amazing graphics, in fact the best we’ve seen on the Wii system to date. The graphics in the game play levels and menus is  8-bit art style.  It reminds me a lot of the games I played growing up and when hitting up the local arcades.  There was no lag and everything ran smoothly image wise.

 Overall Thoughts… 

For a distraction for a few hours or so, we give this game out a 3 out of 5 as with most games based off movies. The game in a nutshell is a pretty simple 2-d platformer. There is an option to mix things up by switching between two characters, a few different levels, Easter eggs and trophies to collect, and the opportunity to play the game over and over again to try to unlock more goodies.

Buy it: You can purchase Wreck it Ralph for the Wii at most retail stores as well as in a variety of system versions on Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I was sent the above mentioned product to review. This review is 100% my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anyone. I was not compensated in any other way for this product review.