Ratatouille

By Jess Nickelsen

Odds are you’ve seen the movie preview for Ratatouille, the Pixar movie about a rat named Remy who dreams of becoming a great French chef, despite the rather obvious anti-rat sentiment found in most kitchens. It’s got a cute look about it, great voice acting – basically everything you’ve come to know (and like) about Pixar in general.

Pixar has also had a lot of success with the tie-in games for previous movies, including Cars, so I guess it was only a matter of time before a game was created for Remy. The extent to which they have decided to release the game however, does make me wonder about how each platform will compare to the other. In any case, here’s the basic outline of the game.

Not surprisingly, players will take on the role of Remy, and guide him through a storyline taken from the film. The game looks to be a straightforward platformer, but one that includes mini-games, cooking challenges, and apparently some multiplayer features as well. In addition to the movie’s plot, there will be extra material created especially for the game. Word has it that all of the voice actors from the film will also be present for the game.

Remy, being a rat, has all the disadvantages and advantages of his species that you would expect: scale is an issue, but he can run, climb, jump, and wack that tail around. The game makes some cute use of items you’d usually find around a kitchen, but gives them a rat-sized twist: a cocktail umbrella becomes a parachute or a boat, a can of tuna serves as a trampoline, and hot sauce can be used to blast through obstacles.

In addition to the straightforward single-player game, there are also plenty of unlockables, from artwork and videoclips to thirty different mini-games.

The look and feel is similar to the film, although you can expect this to vary greatly based on what platform you’re playing. The 360 is crisp and clean, the Wii a little less so, but hey, you’ve got the Wiimote to have fun with, just as PS3 players will be able to make use of the game’s sixaxis support.

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