Picking up a game based on a an animated movie to review may not seem like a terribly smart thing to do, especially with so many movie-based games having bit the dust in recent times. Examples of such atrocities always seem to leap up at you and having endured a few ourselves, we tend to agree with them to some extent. Videogame adaptation of movies has never really managed to get the cash register jingling. But in a world where anything and everything comes in with a million and one tie-ins, merchandise and what not, a videogame adaptation of a movie is almost a foregone conclusion. We have studiously ignored them in the past but this time we decided to take a plunge. Helping us build our resolve was the fact that the game is based on the movie by same name from the wizards at Pixar. Could the sheer brilliance of a Pixar movie translate into a fun game as well?

Those who have seen the movie would immediately find themselves comfortable in the world of Up. The house is up and away and Carl has just discovered the stowaway in his airborne house. A poorly judged landing later, the adventure starts. You get to play as Carl or Russell, switching between the two on the fly, whenever the situation demands. Predictably, you will be encountering many such situations throughout your journey through the game. Russell has trouble getting up on high ledges so it is up to Russell to pull him up with his cane. Russell on the other hand is quite handy with Boy Scout knife when it comes to cutting his way through. At other times, they will be working in tandem in decidedly opposite directions; Russell will delightfully collect the bugs spewing out from underneath a rock while Carl grumpily stamps them out with his cane.

Such interactions are pretty well implemented in the game. The AI does it job pretty well, mostly by not getting stuck at odd corners and being there to take over the characters as you effortlessly switch between the two. In that regard, the AI excels at what it is supposed to; no flashes of brilliance here and none were expected. Up is a platformer and so you will be jumping over quite lot of things over the course of your adventures. And like any other good platformer, you will be collecting a lot of stuff in your way. There are fluttering butterflies to trap for Russell’s butterfly collection, bugs to collect, plants to uproot so that you can get to the fruit (!) and of course who can forget; coins! Do all this while running through the jungles, evade dogs, sail past snarling crocodiles and slide down waterfalls. The levels themselves could have seen a bit more of variety.

Being a game based on a Pixar movie is bound to come with a set of assumptions. For starters, every aspect of the production has to be top-notch, starting from the story to the music. But the crowning jewel has always been the visuals; the jaw-droppingly beautiful frames of computer and artistic wizardry that the folks at Pixar studious manage to come up with. Sadly, the game falters quite badly when it comes to the visuals of the game. The visual extravaganza of a Pixar movie is singularly lacking the videogame adaptation. Characters appear blocky and levels are insipid at best. Lack of detail in the level takes quite a lot away from the game. What could have proved to be a beautiful compliment to the movie itself sadly falls flat in the same department that the movie excels in. The only consolation is that the game does a bit like the movie, making you feel at home.

Now comes the crucial question. Is the game good enough for you? That would depend upon your answer as to what kind of a gamer are you? Swear by your PS3 and the graphical prowess of the Crytek engine? Give the game a miss. Looking for a story to rival the Half Life series? No go here. But, if you are just someone right out of the movie hall, having enjoyed the movie and want to wallow a little more in the world of Up or just want to settle down with your kid and have fun as Russell or Carl, catch some butterflies, stomp a few bugs and share a laugh with your little one, then this is just the perfect game for you.

7 / 10
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