Although we’re certainly a fan of the plasticine pair of Wallace and Gromit, we have to concede that our review of the first episode was spot-on. While the game was a great adventure, the humour evident in the Wallace & Gromit films and Telltale’s other games was lacking.
After playing the second episode, things haven’t really improved in this department. It’s certainly charming, with a few cute smiles and knowing grins, but very few of the laugh-out-loud moments Sam & Max or Aardman elicit. That said there was at least one, caused by a character’s pun name: Scottish character Duncan McBiscuit.
Despite the humour dip, Bumblebees was well-designed with satisfying puzzles. Unfortunately, the puzzles in Last Resort aren’t as good. For example, we solved the opening and finale parts of the episode by accident. The middle parts fair better, but it’s all too easy. The story involves Wallace setting up a holiday resort in his basement, and then a whodunit mystery as Duncan gets thumped and Gromit has to find the, um, thumper. It’s all very entertaining and the story’s chapters all have separate enjoyable objectives.
The characters are mostly the same lot from Bumblebees with the addition of Duncan and Ms. Flitt’s two psychotic dogs, and are all fun to talk to. We’ve gotten used to Ben Whitehead’s impersonation of Peter Sallis (the real Wallace) now, and thankfully he’s no longer drowned out by the music. The rest of the voices, effects and music are all excellent as usual, although there was a bit of sound popping now and again. The Last Resort is still enjoyable for fans of Wallace & Gromit, but seasoned adventurers will run through it like a summer breeze.
Jun 8, 2009
