The third episode in Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures, Muzzled!, is now available to purchase on PC. Following two successful previous episode releases and an arrival on Xbox LIVE! Arcade, this third instalment could very well be seen as a difficult proposition. With gamers turned-off by either of the first two not likely to return and those still eager to jump into the new adventures crying-out for more, it would be an impossible task to please both parties.

            In this instance, Telltale Games prove that the rule remains true, and although Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 3 – Muzzled! retains the entirely entertaining Tutorial, there is little here to welcome newcomers. Those having previously turned-away from the series will also find their grievances going unaddressed, as the latest instalment offers little in the way of experimentation within the formula. However, all of this does add-up to a compelling experience for those who already know where it is that they stand in the world of Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures.

            The game begins with the revelation of a brand new invention, in good Wallace & Gromit tradition, with which predictably not all goes according to plan. This time, however, it’s not a miscalculation on Wallace’s part, but rather the very same stray dogs he intended to help with the proceeds from this latest invention running rampant in his basement. Players are tasked with piecing back together Wallace’s new device, which is no easy task.

Things soon get worse as, while Wallace remains his typically unsuspecting self, the characteristically dastardly Monty Muzzle enters the picture, and the meat of the adventure begins. Travelling to the County Fair in a continued effort to raise money for the homeless dogs’ shelter, players will use the same fuzzy logical to solve location and item based riddles with direct control over their on-screen avatar throughout the 3D space. Though never truly breaking free of the use-everything-on-everything pitfalls of Point-N’-Click adventures, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 3 – Muzzled! does a better job than most at conveying the rules of it’s cartoon world.

The third episode is almost identical to the previous two visually, though does appear to perform better with lower specification systems. Brightly coloured, detailed backdrops and beautifully faux-clay Character Models are let down by the occasional low resolution texture, but few will be discouraged but such occurrences. The voice-acting does appear to have increased in its already tightly-tuned melodrama, and unfortunately suffers because of it.

With the review scores of both Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 1 – Fright of the Bumblebees and Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures: Episode 2 – The Last Resort remaining comfortable throughout, it’s clear the development team have become a lot more confident with this third outing. More cinematic and with punchier humour than previous releases, Wallace & Gromit Episode 3 – Muzzled is simply a wonderful slice of Point-n’-Click gaming. After three such charming releases, one thing is certain; Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures deserves a grand finale.

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