Reviewed by: David Valjalo

Format: Wii (tested), PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Beenox

[ratings]

Monsters Vs. Aliens ties into the upcoming film from Dreamworks pictures and attempts to bring the ensemble of likeable, wacky characters to the interactive medium with a blend of gameplay styles.

It’s the sections featuring The Missing Link, a lizard-like brawler, which almost strike a solid gameplay-chord but the overall symphony of Monsters Vs. Aliens soon goes flat when the other pieces of the puzzle fall into place.  Mundane skating sections play-out like awkward cut-scenes with Wii-mote specific commands feeling contrived and crow-barred into a title designed to fluff up awareness of the main theatrical event.

Viewed as a videogame in the current climate, it’s difficult to recommend Monsters Vs. Aliens to any but the die-hard fans of the film who’ll be rewarded by some good voice-work and a variety of un-lockable extras.  By this account, Monsters Vs. Aliens has the air of an interactive DVD rather than a full-on, ground-up videogame, and as such can’t quite warrant its retail price-tag (a further hint is the division of levels into “scenes”).

The waters of movie-tins has been a murky one since videogames came into existence, unfortunately for its tantalising, B-movie subject matter Monsters Vs. Aliens doesn’t buck that trend.

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