I picked up Ratatouille for Xbox 360 since our 4-year-old is dying to see the movie, it contained a $7.50 movie ticket voucher, and the previews and achievements list made it sound reasonably fun. I typically love exploration games, and one with cooking mini-games sounded like it would be worth trying. The game features large worlds to explore, good voice acting and some fun tricks to master. It's also unnecessarily complex and linear. A few notes after a couple hours of play:
- This game is not for the very little ones. Comic violence aside (there is a lady with a large gun and a gas mask shooting at poor Remy pretty early on), it's just too hard. Learning to master a well-timed double-tap followed by another button press while maneuvering the thumbstick and then maintaing a balance point is tricky for adults. It's not the entry-level platformer it should be. There really needs to be a younger kid mode that favors basic exploration and not so much emphasis on fine motor skills.
- The game is somewhat glitchy and lets you get stuck, at least temporarily, in walls, behind logs, in truck seats, etc. An awful experience for a game that encourages exploration, especially when targeted at young kids.
- Many missions required to advance are timed and/or require significant trial and error to figure out. The "escape the lady with the gun" mission took me about 10 tries. Another where I chased a phantom chef became confusing when he disappeared up a wall where I couldn't see him or his trail.
- The nose detector, which is supposed to direct Remy to his next task, only works under certain circumstances. More often than not, Remy sniffs and nothing happens.
- Back-tracking is not allowed. Missed a few coins or just want to explore the first level further? Too bad. You can play mini-games and missions that have been previously unlocked, however, and presumably beating the game will permit you to revisit past levels. Fortunately, my son will probably not make it past the first tutorial level this year, so this may not be an issue. And there's probably a cheat that will permit level selection, although THQ wants you to buy Mattel's Ratatouille tie-in toys to get them! No doubt they'll all be posted online within the week, so save your money.
- Cooking is the theme, but so far there isn't much that is based in reality. Chili peppers that explode to remove crates in your way? Too cartoony, particularly for a Pixar cartoon.
Hi,
I really like this game but i m stucked. I m supposed to get rid of a cat with a chilli pepper and then bring a weight to a pulley. (In city of light level). Once i killed the cat i dont know what to do. It seems i have to actionnate a blue piece near the chilli pepper but nothing happens. Plz help me ; )
oxyde@free.fr
I got stuck there for awhile, too. Let me tell you how I finally solved it.
You're going to need to clear a path for the weight, right? So go to the pulley and back track, removing all obstacles as you head back to the weight (well, as close to where the weight is stranded as you can get).
If you don't solve it by doing this, check the achievements list for another hint.
I'll post the answer if you need it, but it's more fun to try to figure it out.
-=Gamewatcher
do u agree that i need to take the weigth from it s original place, then avoid the 2 cats that throw me stuff and let the weigth. Then i have to kill the cat with a chilli pepper. Then i think i have to create a bridge to get the weight where i left it and bring it where there was the chilli pepper just before i killed the cat. then it s seem easy to me to bring it to the pulley.
My real pb is to make that bridge. There is a stuff in blue that maybe i can use but i cant... plz help me i m going crazy ; )
Yes, you want to move the weight as far as you can before you get stuck. Then go to the pulley and backtrack, clearing obstacles as you go.
If you don't figure it out, I'll tell you. But there's something you do while backtracking that I think will make sense once you get there. It took me like an hour to figure out (I'm embarrassed to admit). I even roamed around the rest of the city, but everything you need to solve this is on the roof.
-=Gamewatcher
thank u anyway man, u helped me find the solution! c ya.
Glad I could help!
how do i get the weight to the pully ive tried everything please help
how do i get the weight to the pully ive tried everything please help