Bolt (Wii) Review
Bolt, for those who do not know, is a recently released animated feature from Disney studios. Like all major motion picture releases, a multiplatform video game tie-in is always on the cards. Licensed games really deserve a genre of their own, as they all (well, the vast majority) show a distinct lack of quality and effort on the developers behalf. If they had their own genre, it would be much easier rate them too, as you tend to compare such games to one another, as opposed to another game in a similar (actual) genre (e.g., racing, platformer).
With this in mind, Bolt is by no means the worst licensed game I have played; rather, it sits somewhere in the middle of this infamous group of software titles. While Bolt has its share of decent ideas, it is marred by sloppy development that has resulted in a bare bones, dull, and often tedious game. In Bolt, you play through the game using two characters – Bolt and Penny. Bolts levels mainly involve combat, whilst Pennys levels focus on stealth and basic platforming. While it is nice two have two slightly different approaches to gameplay, neither Bolt nor Pennys levels are particularly brilliant.
With Bolt, your typical level involves progressing from area to area taking out hordes of enemies. Combat is easy to get the hang of, as it essentially requires you to just press a heap of buttons. Unfortunately, fighting enemy after enemy becomes boring quickly as Bolt is surprisingly strong for his size and the enemies barely fight back. On top of this, Bolt just bounces from enemy to enemy as if he is magnetised to them, making the combat rather easy. Theres a few boss battles here and there, but none pose any sort of sincere challenge. Furthermore, although Bolt does have a number of special moves at his disposal, using them drains his energy – meaning youll often find yourself relying on the basic and repetitive combat techniques to take down enemies.
Pennys levels arent a great deal better, as youll soon find that being stealthy isnt really necessary. Sure, you can sneak up on enemies and take them down without being detected, but even if you are spotted by an enemy, you will have the chance to take down the enemy in a single attack by simply pressing a single button. Not only does this make approaching the levels in a stealthy manner pointless, it makes the combat in Pennys level dull and repetitive too. The platforming element is executed a bit better, particularly with the use of Pennys Wheelbar, which can be used to climb to higher ground, navigate across gaps, and slide along ropes and wires. However, the Wheelbar is limited in uses and cannot be used as you wish – instead, it can only be used in certain obvious situations.
This takes away from the game too, as the Wheelbar is one of the better ideas implemented in the game. Visually, Bolt is another average looking Wii title that would struggle to compete visually with a 10 year old game. Animations are lacking in quality and the character models need a great deal of work to be up to modern standards. Sound is also mediocre at best, with boring, looping music and voice work that could be improved. On top of this, the game will only last a handful of hours for the experienced gamer, with no real reason to play it again.
There are some mini-games that can be opened… but again, nothing special here. In sum, Bolt is simply not worth picking up with a plethora of better games on the market. Sure, a HUGE fan of the movie who is young and inexperienced with games might enjoy Bolt to some degree. For the rest of you, there is no redeeming quality or experience to be found within Bolt to warrant your time and/or money.
