Wallace and Grommit: Project Zoo is a lackluster platformer that even the biggest fan will have problems enduring.
Right off the bat, before you even start playing, you are "treated" to an almost 10 minute long cinematic. I am going to give the franchise the benefit of the doubt and just assume that the cutscene I was forced to watch did not represent the best the series has to offer. Nothing about it was funny or entertaining, both of which seem pretty crucial for a gamer's attention span to hold out during a cinematic.
Once you get over the enormous movie that opens the game, you will not find much of a reward for your patience. Wallace and Grommit have some ultra tedious platforming to their name, and the tasks you are assigned to complete just aren't that interesting. You never actually feel as though you are jumping and collecting trinkets for a reason. The game's story seems contrived even for a series about a man and his talking dog - quite frankly, game plots don't get any more dull than rescuing a polar bear from an evil penguin.
Not even the admittedly original style of the cartoon makes it over to the game world intact – the environments and models are quite varied and nicely rendered, but the frame rate is abysmal, and it often chugged along at an unacceptable rate. Your love of the game's audio is going to depend on just how much you love hearing a clay man talk to his dog.
Wallace and Grommit probably could translate into a fun game experience, but Project Zoo simply has too many graphical and game design flaws to be worth your time. It's another lackluster platform game that hides behind a pretty shell, and should be avoided.
-George
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