Where the Wild Things Are: The Video Game
© 2009 Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment
Want to play a great video game? Easy to play, yet full of state-of-the-art graphics, the game console version of Where The Wild Things Are: The Video Game is about as close as you can get to jumping into the famous Maurice Sendak picture book, and romping with the characters. We tested the Wii version, to which this review and ratings apply. This one player scavenger hunt/adventure follows a tried and true formula. You save the world (in this case, the island) by roaming around, smashing things and figuring out how to get to the cliff. You assume the role of Max, “King of All Wild Things,” who befriends a team of giant creatures. You begin by choosing between three challenge levels -- easy, medium and hard. From this point, the game autosaves into one of three game save slots. We tried the easy level, and found it to be easily playable by a six year old, with some help. In the first level, you simply follow a creature, as you learn the basic navigation techniques. You must climb, jump, swing, swim and fly through a variety of logic puzzles. Many times, there are multi-step solutions. In order to climb a hill, you must gather some water, and then toss it onto a growing root. This creates a tall plant that can be climbed, like a fire pole, to get to the next level. Like the book, this game has a bit of a creepy feel to it. There are large stinging bees, and the monsters can get mad and eat you. As you explore, you collect items for your village, where trophies and mini-games are stored. In order to make it through to the end, you make friends with the creatures. There's no shortage of things to smash and it is easy to fall off a cliff, to end the level. Fortunately, there are three challenge levels, and the easy level is quite forgiving. Games are saved automatically. Content includes 400 collectibles. This game is a case study in how to take a story book to an interactive medium. The result is a fun, immersive experience. Note that there is also a free iPhone/iPod Touch app with previews of the movie (see the review). The console version was made by Griptinite games; the DS version by WayForward.
$40, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS
Teaches: classification, timing, logic
CTR Rating: 96%