Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

When movies are made into games, they never seem to work out. They always feel too much like studio marketing department gimmicks designed to convince consumers to buy something that was churned out in a few hours of development. Of course, there are exceptions (Batman: Arkham Asylum, Chronicles of Riddick, Ghostbusters: The Video Game), but usually this is because the games’ storylines and adventures are completely separate from their movie counterparts. So how does the well-received “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” movie fare in its foray into videogame land? Pretty well, I’m surprised to say.

Food raining from the sky! It sounded like such a great idea the day Flint announced he could materialize the most delicious edible goodies into thin air. Unfortunately for the town, the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator (FLDSMDFR for short) has gone a bit haywire, and now lunch is splattered all over the sidewalks. Now, it’s up to you (as Flint) to avoid food obstacles and solve puzzles to clean up the mess and save the town from being overrun by dinner.

Meatballs gameplay is extremely straightforward. As Flint, you have a variety of gadgets at your disposal to help you solve simple environmental puzzles, defeat enemies and navigate through the levels. One of the early stages has you using a fork to clean up ravioli, swing from spaghetti vines and stack pieces of sausage. The game also features an on-screen multiplayer mode in which two friends can tackle the levels at the same time. The controls are fairly standard and easy to use, with most of the action revolving around moving, jumping and using the inventions to interact with the food concoctions.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs represents an older time in gaming, in many ways. Even its opening sequence is done in retro 8-bit graphics. Everything is very simple: you navigate through mini-puzzles and linear levels that have loads of charm and fun. There’s something kind of delightful about Meatballs that can be attributed to excellent game design, perfectly targeted towards its obvious core audience of younger gamers. It has a great balance of challenge and whimsy within all of its elements, including visuals and music.

Some will probably cite Meatballs for being a bit too easy and a little too short, and I’ll agree. Most adults could probably knock the entire game out in a couple of hours. Also, I did find that the camera mechanism used when two players work together is a little faulty; it’s easy for one of the players to be left behind. But honestly, if a child wants to take control of Flint and a parent plays the sidekick role, this wouldn’t be a huge issue.

I’m actually a little bit impressed by Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It’s not a perfect game, but it gets high marks for any family with young gamers who enjoyed the movie. This might be a great holiday purchase this season.

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