 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Coraline
- Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Action/Adventure
Common Sense Media says
Creepy, sloppily made game for devoted movie fans only.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the gameplay seems unfinished and haphazard. Some puzzles are too hard even for parents. Like the movie, this is a game that is somewhat disturbing. The parents seem more concerned with writing a garden catalog than in listening to young Coraline. When the fantasy world into which Coraline retreats becomes her prison, there is fear and creepiness that sensitive kids might not enjoy. On the other hand, some kids will think it's utterly cool.
What's it about?
CORALINE, the video game, closely follows the plot of the dark, 3-D animated movie Coraline, which is based on the ever darker children's book by Neil Gaiman. Lonely but perky and resilient Coraline is ignored by her self-absorbed writer parents and retreats through a door in the wall into a fantasy world. That parallel world, which at first features more perfect parents, seems idyllic. Soon, though, its horrible nature is revealed.
In the Wii version, you'll use the Nunchuk and the Wii remote to move Coraline through her world. The 'C' button becomes a lantern when things are dark while the 'Z' button allows you interact with other characters and see your current objective (like meeting your neighbors) on the screen. The 'A' button lets you jump or climb, and the 'B' button permits you kick or shoot your slingshot. As you move through your missions, you'll collect a lot of buttons, which are redeemable for outfits, artwork, and movie scenes in a store.
Is it any good?
Unfortunately, the gameplay is frustrating. Say you accept the mission of picking apples for the sweet, odd ladies who live in the basement. If you hit the apple near the edge of the fruit, it doesn't register. Plus, moving your slingshot with the Nunchuk is slow and imprecise. If you shoot the slingshot at someone you're not supposed to, he doesn't even say 'Ouch' or register pain. Why couldn't the developers have let you simply aim and shoot with the Wii remote?
The moody graphics, the foreboding music, and the wonderful voice acting are lost on gameplay that's boring or doesn't make sense. Coraline feels shunned by her parents. So why must she listen to them when they give her inane tasks like finding blue items in the house? And when the neighbor upstairs calls her Caroline, she doesn't make a peep – completely unlike her reaction in the book and the movie. Add a camera that's buggy and the inability to truly explore your creepy outside surroundings and you've got a game that doesn't do justice to a thoughtful, touching, stop-motion movie that took many years to create.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about when and if the game complements the movie and book. Does playing the game make you want to see the movie again? Do you ever get lonely like Coraline? What do you do when this happens? Have you ever had imaginary friends? What kind of personality did your imaginary friend have?
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AGE
Not a fun game.
Absolutely no questionable content whatsoever (aside from aforementioned rats and evil plants) but the game is not particuarly fun. It is basically just playing mini-games and completing little missions that people ask you to do.
I, thankfully, did not waste my money on this game (I borrowed it from a friend, who told me to see how boring it was) and I advise you not to. It is simply another 'The Video Game' version of a popular book and movie - some of the puzzles are not relevant at all to the actual movie plotline (understandable as a lot of movie-based video games do this, but I would have thought that the movie had a lot of action scenes to work with) and it seems like the little storybook frames are only there to remind hard-core fans that it is the CORALINE video game and they can't return it.
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AGE
Meh....
This game is ok. i wouldn't say it's considered GOOD though. It's basically some remake of the movie in video game form. It's not even something i will be coming back to. Overall, 3 out of 10
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AGE
Extremely addicting!
This game is really fun and addicting. The gameplay does look unfinished, but it is still fun. It took me forever to finally figure out some of the puzzles, and you need to be really clever to figure some of them out. The only bad thing is that the game is short, and once you beat the game once, the only thing you can do with it is play it again. I beat the game twice, and now i'm kind of bored of it. But it's fun the first time!
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Kid, 12 years old
February 5, 2010
AGE
Coraline is fine for ages 10+
The parents arent good role models but this game is rated 4-stars (but i give them 5 cause i totally love coraline) its not that bad and really its 10 and up but the monsters are a little creepy the movie is simaler to the game to but it can be scary for kids under 6 because my poor little cousin Candace saw the movie with me and she was getting scared of the evil button eyed spider mother.
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Kid, 12 years old
January 21, 2012
AGE
Good game
this game is not violent at all and its a really fun game.And its not even that hard i've passed it like 15 times
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| Platforms: | Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Developer: | D3Publisher of America |
| Release date: | January 28, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E10+ for Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes |
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