Review: Wallace and Gromit Grand Adventures Episode 2: The Last Resort

I have just returned from a second holiday at 62 West Wallaby Street, where I was put up for a couple of days in the home of Wallace and Gromit.

The Last Resort opens with the focus on Gromit who is getting set for a nice holiday away in Blackpool. Of course this wouldn’t be a Wallace and Gromit story if things didn’t go sour for our poor, unlucky canine friend. England’s best known feature peeks its head around the corner and our friends get knee deep in an unsavory bout of stormy weather. Wallace wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t turn this negative into a positive, and so one man and his best friend set off to build a seaside resort in their own basement.

This time around, the first element that stood out was that Telltale Games have made it easier to solve puzzles by adding subtle hints which point you in the right direction. When you’re playing as Wallace he will hint to you what he needs to do next, while as Gromit the villagers will give you hints when you stick around them long enough. This makes The Last Resort a lot easier than Fright of the Bumblebees, where I found myself wandering around the town for an hour because I had no clue about what I should be doing.

As a result of the lower difficulty level in this installment, the time it takes to complete the episode is reduced. It took me about three to four hours to complete, and this is including a cheese and cracker break. That is not to say however that because the game is shorter it’s any lesser in quality. In fact I had a lot more fun playing The Last Resort than I had with Fright of the Bumblebees. There’s a lot more to the gameplay, especially when the game goes from standard point and click to a mock whodunnit. It’s quite hard to discuss certain elements of this title without spoiling plotlines and specific events so I’m afraid I’ll have to forego an in depth description folks.

I felt a bit disappointed that there weren’t any new areas to explore, apart from the living room which was inaccessible in the first episode because Wallace had filled the whole room with honey jars. I was hoping at least a few more shops would open and more than one new character was introduced. Although I did like that Wallace would reminisce about stuff that happened in the first episode in certain locations. Perhaps in later installments the areas you cover in these previous episodes will open up and allow for further development but I can see why they are saving visual treats for the content yet to come.

Although I did previously complain about Telltale using the official voice stand-in for Peter Sallis on the first episode, I didn’t even notice his absence in this installment. The voice acting has grown on me and I found myself enjoying the story all the more because of it. What really gets me, in a good way, is how well animated Gromit is. Since he doesn’t talk, displaying the character’s intent relies on his physical expressions, and the Telltale team nails it every time.

I really enjoy these games and as I said in my first review, if you love Wallace and Gromit you will simply adore this series. Like myself, you will laugh out loud to the silly antics of England’s most loved duo and I’m pretty sure that even if you don’t know Wallace and Gromit, you won’t go wrong by buying the Grand Adventures series.

Verdict: Must Buy

Platform: PC/Xbox 360 (coming soon)

Release Date: May 5th 2009

Price: $34.95 for the whole series

Buy it from these vendors: Telltale Games | Steam