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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Action Developer: Beenox Publisher: Activision |
released. The video game adaptation of the game was released just before the release of the film to persuade players to make their
way to the theatres to watch the film. The game allows players to play cooperatively with a friend and unlock a variety of unlocked
content from movie stills, concept art and character upgrades.
When it comes to the storyline of the game, the game takes a lot of the key scenes of the film and turns them into playable levels.
Players will take control of characters in the epic battle against Gallaxhar, an invading alien that has a vast army of robots on his side to
conquer Earth. The idea of having the exiled monsters of the world come to the rescue of Earth against the alien invaders is a great
idea since they are both topics that are taboo in society, but are two topics that gamers have wanted to see in a video game. The idea of
aliens from another world with higher intelligence facing off against the highly misunderstood mythical creatures of Earth is a great
combination. The game allows players the chance to take control of the five various monsters from the film in a variety of scenarios.
Of the five different monsters that can be controlled in the game, B.O.B. has the most interesting level design and controls in the game.
The majority of his levels involve players solving simple puzzles that require players to pass over grates without falling through due to
his gelatinous form. The answer to each of these puzzles usually involves swallowing an enemy or object. Outside of his puzzles, B.O.
B. is able to jump on sides of walls and onto ceilings to pass over various objects that get in the way. Overall his missions turn out to
be some of the most challenging levels in the game, although there are times in the game that players will get a little bored with the
voice acting.
For those that aren’t impressed with B.O.B., there is always Ginormica or The Missing Link to gain their attention. Ginormica, also
known as Susan, has levels that involve skating through levels to the end while dodging oncoming robots and jumping over and
ducking under laser beams. The Missing Link on the other hand puts players in the typical action platform sequences as he works his
way through crates and smashes his way through enemies. His agility and strength really come into play through the level, but none of
these monsters show off any unique qualities on the screen like players would probably expect to see. When players see Ginormica,
who is a fifty foot tall woman, but in the game she seems to be a normal sized woman that is working her way through a world of 500
foot buildings. The levels aren’t very diverse or created with the intent to make the monsters very distinctive. The characters are typically
bland and boring with sci-fi scenery that is placed to set the mood for the entire game, but none of this ever seems to amount to
anything.
Through this entire review there has only been three monsters discussed, the other two aren’t implemented into the game as well.
Insectosaurus and Dr. Cockroach aren’t implemented very well into the game, but they are interesting characters nonetheless.
Insectosaurus is much more than a very tall creature that battles massive evil robots in a Godzilla style manner. Dr. Cockroach isn’t as
lucky, he is only implemented into the game through the cooperative mode which has partners play through the level. For those players
that are able to find a second player to jump into the game, they will play only as Dr. Cockroach as he uses a laser to shoot enemies as
their partner works their way towards the end of the level. Dr. Cockroach never appears on the screen, but instead is just a aiming
cursor used to line up enemies and take them out.
Players are able to jump in and out of cooperative game play without too much effort, but there isn’t much in the game that will attract a
second player to join in. The replay value of the game comes in the form of unlocking extras in the game including concept art, audio
commentary, movie stills, deleted scenes and much more. There are also Monster Challenges for players to take part in where players
will usually race to the end of the level in a time trial. The Monster Challenges are stolen from single player missions from within the
original game, such as B.O.B.’s attempt to reach the exit of the monster containment facility. Each challenge is rated on three different
medal values of gold, silver and bronze, giving players something to work towards when the main game is beaten.
For those who have ever played a licensed video game of a movie, the idea of subpar graphics is nothing that is new. The cut scenes
in the game aren’t based on the movie in any way, but rather they are played using in game graphics. The audio, sound effects and
background music in the game are done well enough to hold the player’s attention. The voice work in the game is great but it is not as
funny as it probably could have been.
Overall, for those players looking for a good, but not great game adaptation of a film, this is an okay game. “Monsters vs. Aliens” is a
great children’s game, but it won’t be very entertaining to anyone over the age of 13 or those who don’t enjoy film franchise games.
way to the theatres to watch the film. The game allows players to play cooperatively with a friend and unlock a variety of unlocked
content from movie stills, concept art and character upgrades.
When it comes to the storyline of the game, the game takes a lot of the key scenes of the film and turns them into playable levels.
Players will take control of characters in the epic battle against Gallaxhar, an invading alien that has a vast army of robots on his side to
conquer Earth. The idea of having the exiled monsters of the world come to the rescue of Earth against the alien invaders is a great
idea since they are both topics that are taboo in society, but are two topics that gamers have wanted to see in a video game. The idea of
aliens from another world with higher intelligence facing off against the highly misunderstood mythical creatures of Earth is a great
combination. The game allows players the chance to take control of the five various monsters from the film in a variety of scenarios.
Of the five different monsters that can be controlled in the game, B.O.B. has the most interesting level design and controls in the game.
The majority of his levels involve players solving simple puzzles that require players to pass over grates without falling through due to
his gelatinous form. The answer to each of these puzzles usually involves swallowing an enemy or object. Outside of his puzzles, B.O.
B. is able to jump on sides of walls and onto ceilings to pass over various objects that get in the way. Overall his missions turn out to
be some of the most challenging levels in the game, although there are times in the game that players will get a little bored with the
voice acting.
For those that aren’t impressed with B.O.B., there is always Ginormica or The Missing Link to gain their attention. Ginormica, also
known as Susan, has levels that involve skating through levels to the end while dodging oncoming robots and jumping over and
ducking under laser beams. The Missing Link on the other hand puts players in the typical action platform sequences as he works his
way through crates and smashes his way through enemies. His agility and strength really come into play through the level, but none of
these monsters show off any unique qualities on the screen like players would probably expect to see. When players see Ginormica,
who is a fifty foot tall woman, but in the game she seems to be a normal sized woman that is working her way through a world of 500
foot buildings. The levels aren’t very diverse or created with the intent to make the monsters very distinctive. The characters are typically
bland and boring with sci-fi scenery that is placed to set the mood for the entire game, but none of this ever seems to amount to
anything.
Through this entire review there has only been three monsters discussed, the other two aren’t implemented into the game as well.
Insectosaurus and Dr. Cockroach aren’t implemented very well into the game, but they are interesting characters nonetheless.
Insectosaurus is much more than a very tall creature that battles massive evil robots in a Godzilla style manner. Dr. Cockroach isn’t as
lucky, he is only implemented into the game through the cooperative mode which has partners play through the level. For those players
that are able to find a second player to jump into the game, they will play only as Dr. Cockroach as he uses a laser to shoot enemies as
their partner works their way towards the end of the level. Dr. Cockroach never appears on the screen, but instead is just a aiming
cursor used to line up enemies and take them out.
Players are able to jump in and out of cooperative game play without too much effort, but there isn’t much in the game that will attract a
second player to join in. The replay value of the game comes in the form of unlocking extras in the game including concept art, audio
commentary, movie stills, deleted scenes and much more. There are also Monster Challenges for players to take part in where players
will usually race to the end of the level in a time trial. The Monster Challenges are stolen from single player missions from within the
original game, such as B.O.B.’s attempt to reach the exit of the monster containment facility. Each challenge is rated on three different
medal values of gold, silver and bronze, giving players something to work towards when the main game is beaten.
For those who have ever played a licensed video game of a movie, the idea of subpar graphics is nothing that is new. The cut scenes
in the game aren’t based on the movie in any way, but rather they are played using in game graphics. The audio, sound effects and
background music in the game are done well enough to hold the player’s attention. The voice work in the game is great but it is not as
funny as it probably could have been.
Overall, for those players looking for a good, but not great game adaptation of a film, this is an okay game. “Monsters vs. Aliens” is a
great children’s game, but it won’t be very entertaining to anyone over the age of 13 or those who don’t enjoy film franchise games.
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