Video Game Review: ‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole’

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Average: 4.5 (2 votes)
HollywoodChicago.com Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0
Video Game Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Krome Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment knew that a video game tie-in for “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” was required and could have done the bare minimum, as so many releases for kid’s movies do.

Children have a lower threshold for entertainment than teens or adults and, consequently, tie-ins for kid’s movies usually fail on their own unique level of awful. They are usually creatively bankrupt merely because they can be and still sell copies to kids who just want every piece of merchandise related to their new favorite movie. Comparatively, the tie-in for “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is a relatively entertaining and effective title. The game is unlikely to convert people who haven’t seen its source or don’t at least already know the books by Kathryn Lasky, but it works on its own terms.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Photo credit: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

The game is essentially a flight simulator with owls instead of planes. As silly as that sounds, the actual flight of “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” feels pretty great and that’s coming from someone who usually struggles to find his bearings in airborne titles. Swooping in and out of canyons and attacking enemies above and below, the basic foundation of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” is well-conceived and well-executed.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Photo credit: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

The player explores the world of Zack Snyder’s animated film across five unique worlds and twenty-two missions that are based on the storyline of the film and books. Choosing from four different species — Horned, Barn, Great Gray, and Spotted — each with their own abilities and strengths, the player progresses through a series of missions that all center around flight and combat.

The plot of “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” centers on a battle brewing in the owl kingdoms as a group called the “Pure Ones” threaten the owls way of life. As the story progresses, the player collects coins called “Shinies” and uses them to upgrade armor and abilities, while also gaining allies along the way.

The gameplay strikes a surprisingly effective balance of being simple enough for kids who love the movie or books to pick up and play while also offering enough depth for older players.

Having said that, the game can be a bit too simple for its own good. The missions are repetitive and the graphics can be a bit lackluster. The developers struck a great balance in terms of gameplay but it’s the little things on top of that like dialogue, plot, and variety that went missing.

“Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole: The Videogame” may be far from a great game but it is a much more bearable one that a majority of titles based on kid’s movies. Should we compare a genre title to its peers or the gaming world as a whole? There are much better games to buy during this crowded season but fans of the movie won’t be disappointed with this one. A video game movie tie-in that plays well for fans is a small miracle in today’s market. The movie it’s based on may be sub-par but its movie tie-in is above average.

‘Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole: The Videogame’ was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Krome Studios. It is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older). The version reviewed was for the Xbox 360 but the title is also available for the PS3 and Nintendo Wii. It was released on September 14th, 2010.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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