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| Where the Wild Things Are |
Where the Wild Things Are
Publisher: Warner Bros.
Price: £39.99
Format: Xbox 360 (also on PS3, Wii, DS)
Age rating: 12+
Score: 3/5 Stars
MAURICE Sendak's beautifully illustrated book about a mischievous boy called Max who sails across an imaginary ocean to discover a make-believe island populated by scary monsters has delighted millions of children since its publication in 1963.
So when we heard that movie and videogame adaptations were in development, we were curious to see how this favourite childhood tale would be re-imagined for a modern-day audience.
Spike Jonze's film version of Where The Wild Things Are is a little too dark, with only a nod and a wink to its wonderful source material. The book's themes of love, anger and loneliness are never fully explored and the Wild Things themselves look more like giant-sized muppets than the ferocious beasts they should have been.
Unfortunately, the videogame adaptation fares little better. Based on the film rather than the book, it begins with Max setting foot on the mysterious island for the first time. But there's no scene setting so those unfamiliar with the story will end up scratching their head wondering what's going on.
Things improve once Max stumbles upon the Wild Things and learns their island is on the brink of destruction. After the beasts proclaim him "King of all Wild Things", he formulates a plan to spirit them away to safety before it's too late. Without giving too much away, this translates into a mish-mash of gaming styles, with some light combat and platform-based sequences as well as several instantly forgettable mini-games. There's nothing remotely taxing here, even for younger players, but its fun for a while as you explore the island, clobbering creatures, unlocking new skills and collecting treasure.
The game still has an otherworldly feel to it, thanks to a soaring orchestral score and some decent visuals, but the personalities of individual creatures are almost non-existent. It's ultimately an underwhelming treatment of a classic children's book and the curious 12plus rating effectively disenfranchises the very age group the game was designed to appeal to.
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