Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Solid action gaming with a fun, strange sense of humor.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Rango: The Video Game
What's It About?
RANGO: THE VIDEO GAME is not an adaptation of the movie that inspired it, but rather a spin-off. Here, Rango the lizard is sheriff of his small Western town. The action of the story -- which involves Rango trying to beat out a gang of outlaws in a race to recover fallen meteorites -- is presented in flashbacks as Rango recounts the tale to his fellow townsfolk. Expect a lot of humor (including video game in-jokes) mixed among the platform jumping, fast-paced animal riding, target shooting, and melee combat.
Is It Any Good?
There's a very quirky, surreal feeling to Rango: The Video Game -- one which matches the movie well. Fans of the film should appreciate the game as a sort of semi-sequel. More importantly, it works well as a game in its own right -- one which you could enjoy well enough without even having seen the movie. There's a ton of variety among the gameplay and a few really fun surprises that pop up in later levels. The controls work pretty smoothly and it's nice to see that the difficulty factor wasn't ramped up too much (at least in the beginning), considering that the game is based on a kids' movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Famlies can talk about violence in video games. Does the violence in a game like this have less of an impact because it's cartoony? What about the fact that the fighting occurs between animals rather than humans? Do you think this game would have been better if it didn't rely on fighting as a central component of gameplay?
Did you buy this game because you enjoyed the movie? Is it smart marketing to create video games based on children's movies?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Paramount Digital Entertainment
- Release date : March 1, 2010
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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