Nov 5, 2007

The "ordinary" can often be unusual in a gaming industry full of complicated concepts, which is why the idea of playing as a bee seems so appealing. Imagine freely exploring the Manhattan setting created for Spider-Man 3, but as a miniscule insect facing exponentially larger structures, vehicles and challenges. Sounds potentially awesome, but that's not what Bee Movie Game is all about.

In fact, Spider-Man 3 may actually be Bee Movie Game's closest modern contemporary, but for all the wrong reasons. Its single-player campaign, which closely follows the plot of the titular Jerry Seinfeld CG flick, is bogged down by seemingly endless timed-button-press "cineractives," along with several other disparate play elements that never quite congeal into a cohesive experience. And without a massive, vertical environment to entertain and distract players between missions, Bee Movie Game nearly flatlines under the weight of bland gameplay and an artificially lengthened campaign.

Above: All screens in this review are from the shinier Xbox 360 version