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Much like the PlayStation2 release of the same name, this game
follows the story of the latest Disney/Pixar animated film,
Ratatouille. Remy the Rat must help his fellow rats and a
human chef to serve quality food and improve the sewers for all to
enjoy. Ensuring that you avoid humans and enemies such as cats,
spiders and birds, this Platform title is played in the traditional
manner; by following Missions and playing any Mini-Games along the
way.
The game begins with simple Missions and gradually becomes more
difficult as you progress. The first Level shows Remy how to
manoeuvre, including jumping, fighting enemies and balancing on
ropes and other objects. There are six Worlds to the game including
the Sewers, Market Place and the Streets of Paris. Once you have
completed the basics you end-up in the sewers in Paris, which
becomes the in-game HUB, from which you may visit other areas. There
are collectables in the sewers such as Charms and hidden items, and
more of the sewer becomes available the more Levels that you
complete. Within Levels there are Missions that you need to complete
to unlock the next Level from the sewer. You must also collect
one-hundred Charms in each level to obtain 100% completion.
Alongside the Missions are Mini-Games that need to be completed.
They do not affect the completion of the story but again, must be
completed for 100%. When the Mini-Games are completed they are
unlocked at the Start Menu of the game for Multi-Player gaming. In
Multi-Player you are able to choose which rat from the film you
would like to play with adding a little more incentive to complete
the Mini-Games along the way. Mini-Games include smashing vegetables
with your tail, squashing bugs using a beach ball, shooting fish out
of the sky using the corks from champagne bottles and collecting
stars through fast moving Levels.
The title isn’t without innovation, and one really nice feature
allows the player - when controlling Remy walking over a rope - to
use the SIXAXIS Controllers’ Motion-Sensor capabilities, tilting
left-and-right to correct the balance. You also use this feature to
control Remy when parachuting, adding a bit more depth and
involvement to the game. As opposed to this version, one of the
features of the PSP Ratatouille game is that you can swim
in-and-under water. As rats are really good swimmers I felt that
this was a very appropriate part of the game that has strangely not
been included for the PLAYSTATION3. This part of the game added real
depth on the PSP as you were able to operate switches for the water
level enabling you to reach higher areas on some Missions.
Unfortunately the PlayStation2 version also cut-out the function of
swimming, possibly leading us to believe that it was in-fact the PSP
version that received the most attention during the games’
development.
Graphically the game is reasonably produced, with decent, chunky
Character Models and only effects such as the water let it down – a
lack of realism. The music is taken from the film and does add depth
but some of the one-liners that Remy and other characters use get a
little repetitive after a while.
Also, there are substantial glitches in game-play. In many places
it’s possible to get the rat stuck between objects, resulting in the
need to reload your last Checkpoint, and the usual array of
invisible walls, difficulty spikes and other areas of videogame
development neglect raise their ugly heads from time-to-time, but
none are game-breaking.
To conclude, Ratatouille is a reasonable Disney/Pixar game,
but nothing special as it lacks depth. The use of the SIXAXIS Pad
adds variety and a degree of differentiation against the title’s
peers, but not enough. If you are in the position to play any
version of
Ratatouille I would recommend the PSP version as
the puzzles are more thought-out, there is more to do in Levels,
more to collect and your rat can swim. If you’re looking for a rival
Platform title on your PLAYSTATION3 though; you are currently
limited for options.
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