Software Review: 'Bot it's not very good

WALL•E and his shenanigans are not cute enough to maintain much interest in the new computer action game.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
WALL•E the robot is adorable, with his tank-tread legs, long metal neck, binocular-shaped head and big black eyes - with a highly acclaimed computer-animated science fiction movie behind him. But he and his shenanigans are not cute enough to maintain much interest in the new computer action (more like an ordinary arcade) game based on the character. A century from now, a giant corporation called Buy 'n' Large takes over the Earth, which becomes so polluted with junk that no one can live there anymore. A force of hundreds of thousands of 'bots, all named WALL•E (an acronym for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class), is dispatched to the planet to clean up by squeezing old refrigerators, vehicles, bridges and other waste into cubes and piling them up like buildings for eventual disposal. But as the detritus is highly toxic, the plan fails and only one WALL•E - our hero - is left on Earth. About 700 years later, our WALL•E is still working industriously to clean up - that is, the gamer does it for him. He doesn't speak a word until about half into the game, and even then it's only mechanical squeaks. His only friend is a brown cockroach who survives the toxic atmosphere. But then love arrives in the form of a space probe named EVE; our WALL•E is smitten with her but his affection is long unrequited, as she is interested only in whether the planet can support plant life. But the game has little of the movie's charm. You spend most of your time undergoing a dozen tests to see if WALL•E is still cut out for his work, maneuvering him over obstacles and through odd landscapes, racing and compacting junk into cubes for hurling at objects. Eventually, the robot carries out missions and fights enemies as he ascends 27 levels. You can unlock bonuses with the points you score and see some movie clips. But the game really doesn't fully follow the film's storyline and quickly becomes boring. Three-year-old children won't be able to follow it or manipulate the keys (a mouse is unfortunately unusable in the game) as required, while older children who will are likely to find it tedious and the graphics engine completely uninspiring. Go see the movie instead.