Wallace & Gromit Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees was my first "formal" introduction to the characters. I saw the movie, but honestly didn't pay much attention. For the uninitiated, like me, the game follows the same basic premise of the animated shorts. Wallace is a bumbling inventor who has a knack for developing well-intentioned, but usually misguided inventions. As is usually the case, he and his dog, Gromit, spend more time cleaning up his messes rather than enjoying their successes.
In Fright of the Bumblebees, Wallace gets the idea for an in-home honey service that can deliver fresh honey as easily as getting water out of the tap. His sales pitch for the idea is so good that the local shopkeeper asks him to deliver 50 gallons of honey for his party that night. The problem leads Wallace to developing giant flowers that eventually give rise to giant bees.
The game leads the two through a series of short puzzles and activities as they travel around town. Fright of the Bumblebees follows the classic adventure game model, but throws in a few twists. While you'll spend most of your time collecting random items to solve puzzles, there's also a short driving and shooting sequence to break things up. The duo's adventures have them doing everything from trying to break a robot mouse from jail to re-commissioning an old war vet.
