WALL-E (Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, PSP, PlayStation 2, Windows)

Hollywood's new robotic darling, WALL-E, makes his video game debut in an action adventure game that is available across all platforms. Players control WALL-E, and occasionally his female love interest EVE, in nine levels of gameplay. The game recreates and expands upon the environments featured in the movie, including the wasteland of Earth as well as the gigantic spaceship called Axiom. Players relive the movie's story thorough video cutscenes, shown between the levels of play. Since each level explores a different location, the gameplay is varied. Most of the gameplay is puzzle-based, where your objective is to find ways to navigate through the terrain.

WALL-E, being a Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class robot, has the unique ability to compact trash and form it into useful cubes. Some cubes have weight that can be used to open levers. Others carry an electrical charge that can power up objects; and some are magnetic, which will affect metal objects in the scene. WALL-E can even bend into a cube shape himself and roll around so that he won't suffer damage. EVE, being an Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, can fly and shoot with a laser. She can also lift up WALL-E and fly him to places he can't reach on his own. These special abilities of WALL-E and EVE create exciting gameplay, particularly as they interact with environments full of moving platforms, explosive containers, and other robots and humans. Some of these puzzles are unique, including one where you need to roll WALL-E into a box shape and have him dislodge explosive barrels that roll into a giant robot blocking your way. Taking control of EVE to fly through tunnels produces an adrenaline rush because you are moving so fast. Multiplayer games also create some fun split-screen competitions for up to four players.<

But all is not hunky dory in this video game based on movie geared at young kids. While the first level seems easy enough for kids as young as 7 to play, the difficulty rachets up quickly in the remaining eight levels. Plus the infrequent checkpoints -- the place where the game saves your progress and returns you to that point when you fail -- create a frustration that younger kids might just walk away from. Instructions can, at times, be hard to read because they are flashed too quickly on the screen or are inadequate, and camera angles can be a little tricky when you are trying to figure out where to jump to next. These factors make us set the age appropriateness at 9, instead of the movie's intended audience of younger kids.

Available on: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, PSP, PlayStation 2, Windows
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: THQ
Released on: June 24, 2008
Price: 20-50
ESRB Rating: E