Review: Wallace and Gromit Ep. 3 Muzzled!

 June is here. What does that mean? Why it’s time for another episode of Wallace & Gromit – that’s what!

This time around we at One Last Continue decided to make this an inclusive review, get multiple viewpoints from our writers in order to flesh out the experience that the team as an entity shared. Simon has been playing the series since its launch back in March and as such has come to know what to expect from the series; this means we have brought in OLC staff members Lars Bendixen and Richard Feeney to offer some of their thoughts on what they managed to see in this latest installment.

Simon Williams:

I’ve gotten to a point now in my life where I just completely cheer up when I hear the Wallace & Gromit theme tune begin to play, and with it the chance to embark on a new adventure with my favourite animated duo. And may I say that the third installment in the series by Telltale Games is another crafty gem, with a high quality story that stays true to the Wallace and Gromit universe we have loved for the past twenty years.

In this episode the town is struck by a tragedy in which the local dog shelter is destroyed leading a travelling fair owner to have a fund raiser in order to pay for a new home for the now homeless dogs. Of course these are the same dogs who have been causing mischief around the town, and whilst this is going on Wallace has come up with a special ice-cream making machine that can make any flavor imaginable – yummy!

I found out this time around that playing the game was even more fun when played with someone else, in this case Mrs. Williams – my wife. Having sat next to me throughout this title, helping me out whenever I got stuck, my wife agrees that this episode seemed a bit harder than the second which is great for me as I prefer a challenge as opposed to the walk in the park from the previous installment. Also it’s just more fun to communicate what happens in these games, and explore with somone instead of sitting behind my desk in silence on my own.

The puzzles in episode 3 are of higher quality, although I do wish there could have been one or two that took me a bit longer to solve. I get that episodic gaming is meant to represent short, fun filled bites so I can put this aside as something I still need to get used to. Flying through the game, I wasn’t really counting the hours, but this episode felt shorter than the previous two and I hope that the next, and final episode, will be a bit longer. I know that this can be the sign of a good title, and of the overall experience, when you lose track of time – maybe it’s a little bit of both really. One thing that I think needs a little attention is that sometimes the dialogue tended to grate at you just a little. It’s perfectly okay to have long dialogue, but not when someone is telling you off or saying you did something wrong – every time.

In summarizing my thoughts, what I liked most about this episode was that certain elements such as characters and objects from the previous two episodes show up, adding to the experience with the familiar, as well as the extraordinary. Although it’s good that every episode stands alone from the previous, in order for newcomers can jump in whenever they feel like it, it’s also nice to see there’s some stuff there for the veterans, the longtime fans of the series. Overall I give my experience here a thumbs up, and look forward to hearing from my colleagues what their thoughts were on this title. 

Richard Feeney:

I’ll be honest, I’m as fresh as a baby to the Wallace & Gromit series, never seen the movie, didn’t even know they had additional shorts! Hell, I had to look the duo up just to remind my self that Gromit was the dog… My exposure to graphical adventures is limited at best, so giving a go at Telltale’s Wallace &Gromit: Muzzled is akin to watching someone pick up Super Mario Brothers for the first time. So, for the first time in decades, I am considered a ‘casual’ gamer in any genre.

Muzzled throws you into this unique world, as rampaging stray dogs cause havoc on the streets. Interacting with the environment to undo what they’ve done is relatively easy enough, although at times you’re left alone with too little direction, wandering around clicking on what ever looks interesting. While this might be an intriguing enjoyable aspect to some, it left me feeling confused and lost.

My biggest issue with the game is that a lot of the enjoyable banter, like what stole the show in Sam and Max (also from Telltale Games), isn’t here at all. Sam and Max was littered with great one-liners and elegant banter between the two talking animals, while Wallace and Gromit borrow more from a slapstick style that doesn’t translate nearly as well in gaming. Also, much of the humor is decidedly British, and might not be everyone’s cup of Early Grey tea. 

Lars Bendixen:

Having the opportunity to actually get to try one of the Wallace and Gromit games from Telltale Games is an awesome thing and my first impression I garnered was that it’s just like in the old days when I was watching the Wallace & Gromit shorts on VHS. The voices, music and graphics are so incredibly true to the classic Wallace and Gromit movies, and thus, I feel, is the perfect match for a point and click adventure game.

So, I started out with a simple mission, which was to retrieve a few parts for Wallace new Ice Cream truck. The first few puzzles are really easy and simple, so it didn’t take too long to get further into the game which shows how it’s not only catering to long time gamers but fans of the serials too!

Something that annoyed me about halfway through the game though, was that I wasn’t able to combine items that obviously fit together, like you’d be able to in other point and click games, like The Curse of Monkey Island for example. Instead I had to give the items away in the correct order for the puzzle to succeed. Maybe in the final, upcoming episode you can get to do some of the inventing that the series is best known for – wouldn’t that be brilliant?

The game felt very heavy at times during the game, however the beginning and the end of the episode allowed for plenty of entertainment to make up for it. I guess what I really missed, was to hear Wallace talk a bit more, as he doesn’t really play a big part of the game until almost at the end of the episode. Most of the time, you’ll find yourself running around as Gromit which actually keeps in line with the movies where Gromit would end up saving the day. Something that I loved though was the simple, and very easy, control system. Using WAS & D to move, mouse to interact, shift for inventory and TAB showing the objects which you can be interacted with – it’s an incredibly simple yet awesome way to play.

After playing this, I really am feeling a sudden urge to download and try out the other games, or perhaps wait and get the full season on DVD when it’s out.

It’s nice to see Wallace and Gromit back in action and I hope we’ll be seeing more seasons of Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures, from Telltale Games, in the future.

Rounding Up:

Verdict: Must Buy

Platform: PC (Now) /Xbox 360 (coming soon)

Release Date: June 16th 2009

Price: $8.95 for the episode, $34.95 for the whole series

Buy it from these vendors: Telltale Games | Steam

Also Check Out:

Review – Fright of the Bumblebees

Review – The Last Resort