Disney's The Wild (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It does appear that the animation world is running out of ideas so for every Disney release we have had over the past decade or so, at least one other studio will release a movie very similar in plot. There was ANTS and A Bugs Life, Finding Nemo and a Sharks Tale, Madagascar and... well, this. The plot involves a group of animals from New York's Central Park Zoo breaking free in order to track down a teenage lion that has been shipped to Africa, which all sounds rather familiar to me. On the plus side the majority of critics are saying that this is much more enjoyable that last year's effort by Dreamworks but is the game?

Gameplay

While The Wild follows the movie's plot very closely the game is actually split into two different modes: Story and Challenge. While this isn't unusual in itself, what is unique is that you will be forced to occasionally switch between both modes in order to complete the game. The game is, of course, a platformer and during the main game the majority of levels simply challenge you to reach the exit with at least some of your health intact. The more mission-based parts are slightly more involved. 'Chase the pigeon' section forces you to search high and low to track down the winged messenger. The snag with the main game is that the whole thing isn't available from the start and in order to unlock the remainder you'll have to indulge in the Challenge Mode. This is simply levels lifted from the main game with a variety of completion criteria attached. So, for example, level one will ask you to find four steaks, defeat four enemies, find Ryan and finish in 18 seconds. Manage all this and you'll be rewarded with four credits, which not only go towards opening up the main game but also unlock stills from the movie. To give a break from the platforming the developers have also included a 'fight' mode featuring Samson the lion. This takes place on a static screen with enemies, which can be fended off using your rather handy claws, attacking from any one of four directions.

Controls

Actually quite complicated for a game aimed at children although the four tutorial levels should give you all the guidance you'll even need.

Graphics

Surprisingly the visuals are not nearly as pretty as we've come to expect from a Disney license and some of the animation is positively wooden. In fact the highlight has to be the eighty of so movie stills that can be unlocked at various stages though the game. Very disappointing.

Sound

The background music isn't too bad at all with the particular track actually matching the on-screen action. The majority of this is based around a jungle theme although there are more 'urban' tracks too. The sound effects are minimal and outside of the lion's roar and some other incidental sound effects there really is very little happening.

Final comments

Unfortunately The Wild joins a long list of dull and uninspired movie tie-ins and unlike other Disney titles it can't even boast the high production values that we've come to expect from the House of the Mouse. There are some elements which are mildly enjoyable such as the various challenge modes but as these are simply 'lifted' from the main game you are only really re-treading levels you've already completed. That said, there are certainly enough movie references (including a number of stills) to please the average moviegoer, it's just a shame the developers couldn't have come up with something a little fresher for a Disney license.

Pro: Loads of Movie Sills, Interesting Challenges.
Con: Poor Animation, Dull Gameplay.
Final score: 5.9

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