Coraline

An engaging audio and visual presentation can't quite save Neil Gaiman's whimsical world from mediocre gameplay.

THE VERDICT by Will Herring Will Herring's Avatar Pretty visuals and quality voice work hint at Coraline's missed potential. While it looks like a great playable counterpart to its big screen debut, the "playable" part just didn't hold up to Matt's standards.

Pretty First Impression

Given the demographic-spanning popularity of Neil Gaiman's eerie children's fable Coraline, and its Nightmare Before Christmas-like film adaptation's not-too-shabby third place opening weekend, it's likely fans of all ages will consider taking the experience a step further in the same-named videogame version. Whether or not that's a step worth taking, however, depends entirely on your passion for this property. As with many games based on family films, Coraline is a mixed bag, often reeking of a coattail-riding cash-in.

Coraline's visual and audio presentation is its most endearing qualities and ones that fans-especially young ones-will most appreciate; Coraline, herself, from her saucer eyes to yellow rain slicker, looks just like her big screen counterpart. And other memorable characters such as the beady-eyed rats, button-eyed "other" parents, and snarky cat look spot-on creepy. The environments also do a nice job of evoking the film's and book's unique locations. Coraline's real world is appropriately dark and dreary, where the at-first appealing alternate world is vibrantly bizarre. Upping the authentic vibe are cutscenes that flesh out the narrative through well-done storyboards. Additionally, the voice acting sounds as though it was pulled right from the film. All these aesthetic pieces of the production come together nicely, delivering a look and feel that pays proper tribute to the rich source material. Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn't quite hold up its end of the bargain, and often feels like a weak supporting player to the more polished presentation.

Coraline

As Fun as a Room Full of Rats

It's not that the interactivity is broken or even that bad; it's just awfully familiar, dated, and not a whole lot of fun. There's the requisite fetch quests, mindless mini-games and filler-feeling activities. None are especially memorable and all feel like they've been stretched to their absolute limit to pad the game's length which, by the way, is incredibly short-plan on reaching the final credits in less than five hours. Of course, given the mediocrity of the gameplay, you'll likely find a few hours is enough time spent in Coraline's style-over-substance world.

It's too bad the play mechanics are not more engaging, especially given the potential of the Wii-motion controls. But as is, the range of mini-missions and quests you lead the precocious Coraline through will feel familiar to anyone who's played any number of average film-tied titles. That said, the most devoted of fans will enjoy the opportunity to see their favorite young heroine come to life in an interactive world, nicely complemented by art direction and audio work that'll remind them why they love Gaiman's quirky tale. Sadly, it will also remind them the book and film is far better than this missed opportunity.

PROS: Good production values do a nice job of bringing Coraline and her quirky world to life.
CONS: Gameplay is dated, too familiar and feels as though it's tacked on to support the pretty presentation.
Coraline
Coraline

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sammykewlguy

Ouch! At least the movie looks great. I dunno, I think a kid would like it, but I'm a Wii fan that won't be buying it.

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