It must be hard to be particularly motivated as a games developer when working on something like Despicable Me. Publisher deadlines mean you'll probably never have enough time to create anything particularly worthwhile, and the nature of a children's film tie-in's target audience means even if you do impress, it's unlikely many people will notice.
A little credit must be due then to Monkey Bar games, who have at least provided a game that's somewhat polished and challenging, if a little sloppy in places.
You control Gru, the Steve Carrell-voiced antihero (who pleasingly adds his own vocal talents in-game) and his band of munchkin-like minions in a series of platform-based puzzle rooms. Little attempt has been made to use the plot of the film – though often trying too hard to do this can be to a film-based game's detriment.
The nature of the gameplay itself is quite interesting – most of the puzzles require you to shoot different combinations of small, yellow minions at different points on the screen (using the Wiimote), and then use your array of weaponry to manipulate them into holding down buttons, providing platforms to jump across, and so on.
Only occasionally do any enemies as such appear on screen – and even then their sole purpose is to run away. Actions such as killing a fleeing enemy and defacing property fill your "despicable meter" and unlocks costumes and the like – though, let's face it, unlockable costumes have pretty limited appeal in a puzzle game.
The use of licence – including Pharrell's theme tune and orchestral music from the film's soundtrack – is one of the best things about Despicable Me. It's can be humorous at times – Gru castigates you every time he dies – and children in particular will enjoy many of the comedic flourishes in the game's presentation.
As a game clearly aimed at a younger audience though, it's often perversely hard – and not just because of the poor level design and dodgy controls that hamper your progress. Attempting to jump while shooting diagonally downwards over a hazard to freeze a fiery platform is incredibly tricky using the Wii thumbstick. And it only takes one hit to send you back to the start of each puzzle throughout the game – pretty unforgiving, and deeply frustrating at times.
Even an experienced player such as myself (ahem) died dozens of times even in early levels. If you have to restart too many times the game lets you skip a section, although progressing through the game in this manner is pretty dissatisfying.
A generic spaceship-flying level is thrown in later on to offer some kind of variety, but with roughly a dozen levels, most of which can be completed in about 15 minutes, there's not a great deal of longevity on offer here. And while there's fun to be found in the multiplayer modes, there's nothing to suggest you'd ever choose a game of Despicable Me with a friend over the Wii's dozens of superior multiplayer games.
With better controls and collision detection this would have a pretty decent Wii game – especially considering how little is expected of this sort of licensed offering. As it is, I'd expect only fans of the film or puzzle-game devotees to consider this a worthwhile purchase – and even then, perhaps only after a couple of months when it can be found in the bargain bin.
• Reviewed on the Wii
