Wallace and Gromit: The Bogey Man Review

When you start the game, the titles will roll and during them, a newspaper will be focused on. An image of Wallace kneeling and 'supposedly' proposing to Felicity Flitt, his next-door neighbor, is the focus. At the end of the previous episode, Wallace had knelt down to pick up something off the floor and this is what led to Felicity thinking he was proposing. This is the starting point of the story, as Wallace wants to try and get out of the marriage.

So, this leads to Gromit heading out to the garden after Wallace asks him to find out what's going on next door. A conversation between Felicity and her aunt is overheard where her aunt mentions there only being a problem with the marriage if Wallace was a member of a country club called Prickly Thicket. Naturally, this leads into the larger story.

The story itself plays out nicely as well, with strong writing which is important for adventure games. The writing should be guaranteed to at least make you smile and the ending of the game's first part (of four) is pretty priceless.

The gameplay of The Bogey Man, much like the previous episodes, is reminiscent of practically every other point and click adventure game out there. One difference though is that the inventory of the character you control (you control both Wallace and Gromit) is accessed by pressing I. In addition, characters are not moved by clicking the left mouse on the screen. Instead, the directional keys are used. The mouse can be used to interact with objects though.

As far as the actual gameplay goes, it is again the same as any other point and click title alongside the other episodes in the series. You'll navigate around a few environments and talk to characters, while picking up items and attempting to solve puzzles. If you get stuck, there is a built in hint system available but while the puzzles may have you thinking for a short while, the puzzles aren't hard when compared to other games in the genre. The puzzles though, and as a result the game, are less linear than the ones featured in the previous three games.

Overall, the gameplay is pretty decent but the main reason to play for seasoned adventure gamers is for the game's humor and characters.

The graphics aren't cutting-edge, but that hardly matters for point and click adventure games. Also, if you were to watch Wallace and Gromit on the television and compare what you saw with the game's graphics, you'd probably find that the characters look like those in the shows/movies. They're authentically rendered and look like they could be made from plasticine.

Sound wise, the music and voice are great. The voice actor for Wallace though isn't the same as the person who voices the character in the show/movies I believe. But the voice acting is still good.

On the presentation front, there are no complaints either.

The game's not too long, probably lasting around three to four hours, but it's part of a series that when taken as a whole, last as long as full games. The game can be bought on its own cheaply as well, but it's recommended to buy it with the other three episodes.

Overall, fans of Wallace and Gromit and adventure games in general should find something to like here. It's also a fitting conclusion to the series. Just remember the challenge is not great though.