What’s a movie without a movie licensed videogame? For that matter, what’s a Disney family film without a movie based game? When Walt Disney released Meet the Robinsons it was only natural that a videogame would be coming, and pretty unsurprisingly said game turned out to be an adventure game that plays like a mixture of Zelda meets platformer. Though not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, it just doesn’t provide anything exactly fresh and original either. So, is the game strictly for fans of the movie?

THE STORY SO FAR
Having not seen the movie, I can only assume what parts of the game are taken directly from the movie, and which elements were created only for the game. The story goes that Wilbur is part of the Robinson family, a family of the future who seems to be made of nothing but super geniuses and gadget gurus. Wilbur likes to travel through time and has it in his mind to go and take the time machine for another joy ride. However, he leaves the garage door open, and the evil Bowler Hat Guy (seriously, that’s his actual character name) takes it so that he can theoretically go change the past to rule the future. As Wilbur you chase after him to stop him, only to have to go back and forth through time (different levels) to fix everything back to normal.

The story unfolds through in-game cutscenes, which look pretty close to that of the CG movie the game is based on. Though not as crisp and clear, the cutscenes still tell the story perfectly, which comes through even more clearly thanks to the humor and quality voice acting that are prevalent from beginning to end.

GAMEPLAY
Meet the Robinsons (MTR from here on) plays like a standard platformer, with many of the same elements. You’ll run around through worlds, battling enemies such as robots and robots and usually more robots. Since it is a kid based game, you won’t really be brandishing weapons for typical fragging; instead you’ll be using your Chargeball glove to wield balls of energy at enemies to beat them. The only real destructive ray like weapon you have is the Disassembler, which you’ll use on environmental objects to break them down so you can use them to build new gadgets from blueprints you collect on your journey.

Though the gameplay is typical platformer, the controls lean a bit more towards the Legend of Zelda. For example, there is no jump button, because instead you’ll run towards gaps and automatically jump. Movement is controlled with the left thumbstick and you can control the camera with the right thumbstick. You can also do other moves like ledge shimmies whenever you find a narrow walkway you need to get around.

Combat is the big control issue of the game, as you’ll have to hold down the L1 button to stay in Target Mode so you can track your enemies and throw your chargeballs at them. The problem is that the camera and controls become very iffy and problematic when it comes to tracking enemies, as you often have to be really close to them to focus directly on the enemy or object you want, because if you are too far away you have a really high chance of locking on to something that isn’t an immediate threat. It isn’t easy either to switch targets on the fly, so no combat comes off very fluid at all.

Another gameplay element is the Chargeball game, which plays like air hockey, only not nearly as fun. In this game, you and your opponent are both guarding a goal, but first you must hit the targets of your opponent. Once those targets have been hit and deactivated, to win all you need to do then is throw one ball through the goal and you score a point.

There are some spherical ball elements as well, which steals..ahem…borrows the play style of a Super Monkey Ball, where you’ll immerse yourself in a giant energy ball, and will roll it around levels, up ramps, and over enemies to destroy them. It’s an okay mode, but nothing beyond average. Seeing a trend here?

Levels vary a bit, but nothing that is exactly new or ground breaking. Enemies are pretty ordinary too, mostly robots who are simple to beat once you understand their movements and attack patterns. Also, to combat the enemies, it doesn’t take much more than wailing on them with your chargeballs. Levels also end with some gigantic boss battles, but they only impress thanks to their height, as they aren’t difficult at all either, as their attacks are pretty easy to figure out really quickly.

GRAPHICS
The graphics actually convey the original look of the CG animated movie excellently, as they have the same features and rounded CG look. The characters are also very expressive, managing to convey emotions and humor really well with their faces most of all. The environments are nice enough, but a bit too bland in parts and too sparse, featuring large gaping rooms where there doesn’t seem to be a lot happening.

SOUND
The sound effects, like most of the game, is only average at best. The sound of robots and machines breaking or the Disassembler doing its job are good, but there isn’t nothing that really grabs you and sucks you in. The in-game music comes in slightly below the sound work in terms of quality. However, where the game does wonderfully is the voice work, featuring what – to my knowledge – is the cast of the film actually doing their own voices here. There are some voices that sound familiar, though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who they are without a cast listing. One voice that was easily pinpointed was that of the Batman himself – Adam West. Much like Patrick Warburton, Adam West just has that perfect voice for voice acting, and it’s always fun to hear him talk in this game.

IN CONCLUSION
For the younger kids out there or really big fans of the film, you’ll probably find a game here you’ll be able to enjoy. For the older players, though, the game will annoy with its technical problems more than it will astound you with its voice work or anything else. Instead of forking over money for the game, you’d probably be better served going to see the movie over and over until you’ve seen it enough times to cover the price of the game.

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