Up: The Video Game: Co-Op in the Amazon
Company: THQ
Up: The Video Game is the latest THQ/Heavy Iron Studios movie tie-in game. This one will feature Pixar's latest cast including Carl Fredricksen, Russell, Dug (the dog) and Kevin (a large tropical bird). Based on the demo we were given, the game appears to support a pop-in/pop-out arcade-style multiplayer system that will allow you to play as either of the two characters on the screen. Our demo allowed us to play through two levels from the game, both featuring Carl and Russell as the playable characters. The premise of the game (and movie) is that old-man Carl has decided to get away from it all, but without wanting to leave his house. So he rigs a series of balloons to his house and the whole thing takes off. Well, young Russell, an official Wilderness Explorer member, ends up hitching a ride and the pair find themselves in the deepest South American jungles.
The first level available in the Up: The Video Game demo had Russell and Carl using a fallen log in a river and a pair of large leaves to paddle their way upstream as Carl's house floated away. Unfortunately for the characters, this river is infested with alligators and monkeys that like to throw fruit (yes fruit, not some other thing that monkeys like throw) at you. If you are touched by either of these creatures (or their projectiles), then Carl and Russell fall off the log and get back on at the previous checkpoint. These checkpoints seemed to be fairly frequent at times, which was nice since there was one location that required a lot of maneuvering to get away from a particularly large alligator. The controls for this level felt a bit odd, especially since our demo was for the PC. You paddle left or right by using the (A) and (D) keys, while (G) caused the pair to go forward faster and (S) slowed them down. I rarely used (S), but in order to get a solid control over the log, I had to have one hand on (A) and (D) while the other hand hovered over the (G), else my fingers would have trouble switching between the (D) and (G) keys. Thankfully, these keys were configurable and other patterns are easier to use, so while this could be a problem for the game's final product, there is hope.
Up: The Video Game's second level we were able to play can be considered your basic co-op/platformer setup. Carl and Russell trek through the jungle and have to make their way through a series of caves. The pair have to work together in order to get past the game's obstacles. These co-op puzzles ranged from simply having to help the other character get up on a ledge, to one character having to scare away some bats while the other one tries to jump on a rope that they were hovering around. The pair weren't defenseless either; Russell featured a mirror that can use the sun's light to project at snakes, porcupines or bats in order to scare them away, while Carl reaches for his hearing aid to cause a high-pitched squeal (though this wasn't as effective as Russell's weapon of choice). Other differences between the characters were Carl's ability to get onto higher ledges (with the help of his cane) and Russell's youth enabling him to carry objects when needed. This level also featured a multitude of collectibles for both characters. Russell seems bent on finding bugs and butterflies (no doubt for some badge or patch), while Carl went around picking up photos (I guess of his late wife?). If you aren't playing with a second player, then swapping between characters was easy enough and the A.I.-controlled character did seem to help when necessary, but it's clear that this level was designed for multiplayer co-op fun over having to switch back and forth between the characters.
Up: The Video Game also claims to have a level where all four characters can compete in an aerial dog-fight combat sequence. But that level wasn't featured in the demo we had available, so we can't really say more than the party-line on that particular feature. Up is scheduled to come out late this month just before the movie's premier on May 29th. It has an ESRB rating of E, so it should be good for kids of all ages (as you would expect from a Disney movie game). While the game feels like most platformers (at least what we've seen so far), I'm sure families who end up loving the movie, will want to look into this game when it hits the streets for their kiddies.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Related Links: Up: The Video Game Official Home Page Up (The Movie) on IMDb Heavy Iron Studios Home Page
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