Up

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Glitches keep this game from getting a hearty thumbs "Up."
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this generally kid-friendly game
features mild cartoon violence such as using weapons like golf clubs to whack cartoon animals and insects. Also, you'll see spatters of green blood on the ground after killing jungle bugs. In arial combat levels, you are tasked with shooting down planes that simply disappear in clouds of smoke.

  • The game promotes teamwork between and old man and a child. If the two don't work together, you can't progress in the game.
  • Mild cartoon violence where characters use weapons like golf clubs to whack animated animals and insects. You'll see spatters of green blood on the ground after killing
    jungle bugs. There is also arial combat where you must shoot down other planes that disappear in clouds of smoke.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

Up is Disney's latest Pixar movie, currently shown on thousands of screens nationwide in 3-D. THQ's video game UP, not in 3-D, follows the movie's story line. This platformer game features a thoughtful, inquisitive kid named Russell; Carl, a delightful old man who fears assisted living; and a balloon-propelled flying house which ends up in Venezuela for an often humorous escapade.

You'll control both Carl and Russell (ever tethered to the flying house) during the game, and you'll often have to work in tandem to get things done. As you move around this world, you'll amass coins for health purposes by killing bugs and breaking rocks. Russell can shimmy across ledges while Carl can use his cane as kind of grappling hook. Russell can use his backpack as a weapon, too. Some of the game levels involve flying bi-planes in dogfights. While there is multiplay for up to four people, there is no online play.


Is it any good?

 

Up's characters have all the charm of their movie counterparts – right down to the way they move. The graphics are top notch, though not exactly Pixar quality. In both foreground and background, the unlikely heroes, outrageous villains, and tropical environs look about as good as any movie-based animated game can for this generation of consoles. And while you can't explore everywhere you want to as you could in the WALL-E game, you don't really notice that you're on a path from which you can't really stray.

Up, while good, is not THQ's finest hour when it comes to its stable of Pixar-related games. Some of the attention to detail – which makes or breaks a game like this – is missing. Carl, the oldster, often whacks Russell with his cane when he is trying to crack open coconuts or smash bugs. Carl is not supposed to do that but the computer-controlled Russell gets too close to the cane, and - whack - he's down on his back. Also, when swimming through a supposedly harrowing cave filled with rapids and giant snakes, there's not much to do except collect coins. In fact, if you don't do anything, you still get to the end of the run unscathed. And sometimes, Russell's dialog is cut off by another line of dialog. That essential suspension of disbelief is occasionally missing and with it goes your willingness to be emotionally touched – which is sad because the movie itself is so appealing.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about why most children's movies have accompanying video games? Did you choose to play this game because you had seen and liked the movie? What you would do if you were about
to embark upon an epic journey that included a house raised by balloons. Who would you pick to go with you and why?


This review was written by Harold Goldberg
Parent of 3 and 9 year old
April 29, 2010
 
Our whole family enjoyed it, but some parts were particularly tricky (getting past the crocodiles) for the kids.

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Kid, 11 years old
June 7, 2009
 
I had so much fun!
it was great it pulled me right in.It had alot of action and I played it like 5 times a day.It was just aswome.

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Teen, 16 years old
May 30, 2009
 

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Teen, 16 years old
August 19, 2009
 
fun for children and early teens
This game is pretty fun it has co-op modes where 1 or 2 people can play together. There is also a multiplayer airplane dog fight game where you shoot down the other players plane. This game has good messages like help your friends or save the animals. The boy russel also shares cool facts about animals and camping.

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Parent of 11, 21, 25, and 26 year old
June 1, 2009
 
up the game
good game well awesome game to

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Kid, 13 years old
May 30, 2009
 
i felt exicted
i love this movie and the funny part was when that man shut the door in the little boys face

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Adult
July 31, 2009
 
Fun game, more tame than most.
Fun game so far. I purchased for my 7yr old who loved the movie. Graphics are good, but not world class. Game play is easy to learn, but some of the action can be challenging though not frusterating. This is action / adventure oriented with minimal fighting, at least compared to Lego Starwars, etc.

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Adult
June 3, 2009
 

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Teen, 16 years old
July 21, 2009
 
Great game!
I know I'm 13, but I really like this game! I highlighted that it was easy because in just the few hours after we bought the game, we were already on level nine! But, we're on level 16 or 17 now and it's kinda hard. So I'm not saying that all of it's easy, but many of the levels are. Parents, violence isn't a huge concern, but Russell and Mr. Fredricksen will crush bugs or collect them, and you do have to fight dogs and snakes. But it's not extremely violent. It's not even really "violent" if you ask me. There's no language or anything else innapropriate. It's very fun and kids will enjoy it. In my opinion, it's worth buying.

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Teen, 18 years old
June 13, 2009
 
the up up and away review
I loved te movie and the game was even cooler because you got to actually be the character thetbyou saw on the Tv so it was fun to play and experience actually being a character especially the men grandpa and the dog so yeah that's basically it I hope you enjoy the game just as much as I did! =)

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This review was written by Harold Goldberg
Platforms:Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, PlayStation 2, Windows, Mac, PSP
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:THQ
Release date:May 26, 2009
Price:$20-$40
ESRB rating:E10+ for Animated Blood, Mild Cartoon Violence

This review was written by Harold Goldberg

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About our rating system
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.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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