Wallace & Gromit’s The Last Resort

I’m not the biggest _Wallace and Gromit_ fan, I don’t dislike the franchise but I don’t revere it either. The overly British depiction of the franchise’s characters somewhat annoys me and although a lot of people still greatly enjoy many of these aspects, I can’t help but feel that the entire premise is slightly dated. Luckily the short films created by Aardman Animations have such high quality animation work, well thought out storylines and general vigour that they remain extremely entertaining. However, if you remove the stop motion animation, change the medium from TV to game and bestow the franchise onto a different development company, _Wallace and Gromit _could have become an entirely different entity.

Thankfully, and as mentioned in the review of [_Fright of the Bumblebee_](https://theboar.org/games/2009/apr/28/wallace-gromits-fright-bumblebees/), Telltale have captured the essence of _Wallace and Gromit_ and have successfully propelled the franchise onto our consoles and PCs, incorporating its signature traits with a competent adventure game that combines modern 3D visuals with classic point-and-click action.

This second episode of the current series begins with an attempted trip to the beach, on discovering that it’s chucking it down outside, Wallace comes up with the ingenious plan to change the basement (which has flooded) into a one-of-a-kind seaside destination. From there you’re tasked with the construction of this paradise followed by some detective work, along the lines of Cluedo, to ensure all the guests are enjoying themselves and to solve a few mysteries along the way.

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The plot is interesting and leads to a mildly entertaining episode; parts did make me smile but at no point was I laughing out loud, maybe I just don’t get _Wallace and Gromit_ humour. And here lies the major issue, if you don’t like the franchise or simply don’t find it very compelling, then you’ll start to notice the game has a lot of underlying flaws. For example, underneath all of the game’s charm and wit there are some extremely low quality textures that actually distracted me from the experience (it’s difficult to read blurry text) and, more importantly, there’s a considerable amount of repetition regarding the assets used in game. Apart from the addition of a few new characters and a redesigned basement, the house and town are exactly the same as found in the first episode. Although adventure titles are mainly puzzle and story driven, it would have been nice to see a little variation.

In addition, I found some characters, in particular Major Crum (a war veteran), to be infuriating; if they weren’t such idiots you could solve the game’s puzzles twice as quickly. Combined with its slow pace, even for an adventure game; dull dialogue loops that last for way too long; and having to hear the same conversations multiple times if you’ve failed to solve a puzzle correctly, _The Last Resort_ can be rather frustrating.

If you’re a fan of _Wallace and Gromit_ none of this will probably matter and you might even enjoy the rambling idiot that is Major Crum. However, as a non-fan, I’d have to recommend Telltale’s newest series, _Tales of Monkey Island_, over this. [_Launch of the Screaming Narwhal_](https://theboar.org/games/2009/jul/7/tales-monkey-island-launch-screaming-narwhal/) is far more enjoyable both in its humour, which is considerably more universal, and its story. While _Narwhal_ feels like the fresh, young face of adventure gaming, _The Last Resort_ feels like a somewhat older, slower brother who isn’t that funny anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, _The Last Resort’s_ dialogue is well written and, for the most part, well voiced but your enjoyment really depends on your own sense of humour. Unless you’re a _Wallace and Gromit_ fan, this episode is difficult to recommend.