Monsters vs. Aliens Demo Impressions

See that image above? See how the gradients of brown have been replaced with blue and how the gritty, penis-like men’s men who say “fuck” have been replaced with fun? Yeah? I think I hurt myself with juxtaposition after playing Killzone 2 and then playing Monsters vs Aliens.

It’s the latest “make a game to go with the movie because that’s what we do now” game to come out and is available for every conceivable platform. I’ve just played the demo on the 360.

The demo opens by giving you the choice of three different characters (and subsequent scenarios) to play; B.O.B. the blue blob thing, Ginormica (or Susan to her friends) the giant woman and The Missing Link, a half fish half monkey… or something. Each character has their own distinct level style which I assume continues into the main game. The demo only had one of each type of level in and I get the impression from other reviews and previews that what I played is basically all of the content. In the full game it just repeats itself until it’s time to go home.

Playing the levels as B.O.B. is similar to playing as The Missing Link in that it feels like the most generic game possible. You are a blob. You can smash, jump (latching you onto walls or ceilings) and spit. You move from room to room smashing boxes for points and solving basic “pick the box up, press the button on the floor” puzzles. During the demo there was one variation where you were in a fixed position shooting at enemies until they were dead. With the game’s target demographic being 5 year olds, I can’t say it was challenging.

As well as the generic gameplay comes all of the generic problems that come with the generic genre. Most notably that the camera is completely out of your control which leads to continual annoyance as you loose track of where something is or simply can’t see round the corner you really want to see around.

The Missing Unk’s levels are basically just Ratchet & Clank. Level design, game play, aesthetics. Even down to the boxes that beep when you get near and eventually explode. You move from small area to small area, kill all the enemies using a few simple attacks, and the exit opens. Repeat with the odd bit of platforming. Bosses perform regular attacks you can predict, dodge then counter, ending in a QTE finale.

The monotony is broken up with the odd “puzzle”, though again, due to the target audience they are hardly anything more complex than pressing a few buttons.

Ginormica, the giant woman called Susan, has the only level I had real fun with. She skates around with cars for shoes. You travel along a set path in sudo-2.5D. You basically move left or right to avoid the oncoming obstacles. As the level I played, where I was skating along a highway avoiding robots, progressed the difficulty did noticeably increase. You’re required to avoid pits, grind along poles whilst leaning left or right to avoid signs and occasionally double jump. All of which, if missed, resulted in minor damage being taken or an instant death (followed by an equally instant re-spawn). It’s a bit like a slow moving and very forgiving version of the fun bits in Sonic Unleashed.

The bosses here are basically just QTEs you can’t fail at. You are given literally 3 or 4 seconds to press a button, and failure results in simply being forced to re-try until you succeed.

I think perhaps it was the blatant design for kids that actually appealed to me in this game. The colours, mindless robot killing and, well, fun I was having was marred only with graphics that look like they fell out of the PS2 and the feeling that this would only be fun for another 15 minuets. The ease of the challenge meant I was continually reward, like a child, with a pat on the head and a nice “well done” every now and again.

Also, if you pause the game (to, say, write notes for a Demo Impressions article) it says “I do wish you had gotten yourself a sandwich before you started” which is funny. Then it loops the same recording. Continuously.

I’m actually considering purchasing this, if just to finally feel good at a game again. Though if I do get it, I’ll be looking for the bargain-bin PS2 version.