WALL-E

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Inventive gameplay too puzzling for younger kids.
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 the setting of this game (which is based on the movie) creates a bleak statement of the future of Earth because it shows a world ravaged by garbage to the point of inhabitability. The gameplay is very inventive, but too hard for the target audience of kids as young as age 5 who will be seeing the movie. Because the save points are infrequent and the camera angles sometimes difficult, the game can be frustrating. Also the instructions can be sketchy or not on the screen long enough, so the game requires patience and experimentation. As a consequence, we are setting the age category for kids ages 9-up.

  • Offers a bleak look at our future on Earth, and depicts humans as overweight riding on hovercrafts.
  • Some shooting with lasers at other robots.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

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.<


Is it any good?

 

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.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

Families can talk about the environmental message delivered in this game. What do we need to do to avoid the fate presented in the movie? What makes WALL-E, a character who doesn't talk, so appealing?


This review of WALL-E was written by
Teen, 13 years old
November 28, 2008
 
Kids game
If you are a teen do not get this game. my little brother, who is ten, plays it. It short and cute and $50 dollars.

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Parent of 2 and 7 year old
June 5, 2009
 
missing platform
FYI According to the online Apple Store. This is also available for Mac OS, but is not listed as a platform.

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Adult
March 29, 2009
 
good game
i like the game it is a very good game

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 

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Kid, 11 years old
May 8, 2010
 
Don't Waste your money
This games stinks so much, I want to destory every copy of this whole game on the planet!!! Commonsense's review gave it a 4out of 5, YOU ARE WRONG!!! It's okay for kids, but STINKS

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Kid, 10 years old
July 31, 2009
 
Not that good you should tell your kid to save their money on something else
I think it is pretty bad because unless you like throwing boxes of garbage it's bad.
What other families should know:

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Kid, 11 years old
December 1, 2008
 
Another movie game...
Ya know...games baced on movies are never sooo great. I mean, Its not like the movie and usuly has bad game play. So I got to say...spend your money on Wii fit or Wii Play if your looking for a family game

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Adult
June 29, 2009
 
Fun, short game for WALL-E fans.
When you said the movie was intended for younger children, I lost all respect for your review Jinny. I'm sorry to say that, but as an animation major that really upset me. WALL-E was a movie created for all ages. In fact, if you wanna get technical, younger audiences have trouble understanding it often. Animation is a medium, not an age bracket. Thank you. Anyways, I played the PS2 version and had a lot of fun, though it took me only half a day to beat, and the unlockables weren't exciting enough to make me wanna shoot for them and extend me game time. A great game for fans, but renting it first may be a good idea. Non fans, as usual when it comes to licensed games, will probably find more fun in other platformers.
What other families should know:

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Kid, 12 years old
May 5, 2011
 
Great game for virtually all ages can be very puzzling!
This is a great challeging game that will satisfy to kids and some tweens. There is nothing offensive in this game. The controls are simple to learn too. Although some levels can be hard for young kids, it is still a good game. And the game has a great positive message... to protect this Earth and keep it clean!
What other families should know:

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Kid, 11 years old
June 11, 2010
 
no worth the time
well the game is cute and all but the psp version sucks im not sure about the other versions but no bad stuff in it just boring

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This review of WALL-E was written by
Platforms:Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo DS, Windows, PlayStation 2
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Action/Adventure
Developer:THQ
Release date:June 24, 2008
Price:$20-50
ESRB rating:E for (Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Windows, Xbox 360)

This review of WALL-E was written by

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