Advertising Blurbs
www.nintendo.com – Nintendo GameCube:
Charlie Becomes Mr. Fix-It
A Rube Goldberg is a crazy, over-elaborate machine that does the
simplest thing. You'll encounter a factory full of Rube Goldbergs in
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
Features
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Cut-scenes inspired by the famous book
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Friendly Oompa-Loompas help you out! Woohoo!
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Collect jelly beans, Wonka-Vite and other goodies
Because Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is a budget-priced title, you
won't get extras like movie sequences. In fact, the cut-scenes are slide
shows of drawings, not movie stills. Willy Wonka looks like Johnny Depp,
but that's not his voice on the game's soundtrack.
However, the game does feature the voices and likenesses of Freddie
Highmore as Charlie Bucket, David Kelly as Grandpa Joe, Philip Wiegratz
as Augustus Gloop, Julia Winter as Veruca Salt, Jordan Fry as Mike
Teavee, and AnnaSophia Robb as Violet Beauregarde. Deep Roy provides his
likeness as the Oompa-Loompas, and Geoffrey Holder provides his voice as
the Narrator. Burton has provided creative consultation for the game.
When those infamous brats accompanying Charlie on a once-in-a-lifetime
tour start causing mayhem, it's up to Charlie to set things right by
fixing and operating the wacky candy-processing machinery. His able
assistants are Oompa-Loompas, of which there are several types. Welders,
for example, fix leaky pipes.
The chocolate factory is so outlandish that it's not always clear what
Charlie is supposed to do next. You practically need a scorecard to keep
track of all the different kinds of candies, machines and power-ups.
For example, if you toss a Jelly Beanstalk Candy on the ground, it will
grow into a vine, which will then trap a Wonkabot, making what looks
like a giant tumbleweed. Roll the englobulated Wonkabot to plug a steam
vent. This allows pressure to build in the tubes carrying molten
chocolate, forcing free the rotund Augustus Gloop. Oompa-Loompas are
needed to both harvest the Jelly Beanstalk Candies and run the
Wonkabot-making machine.
Controls for running and jumping are decent, but aiming is often
frustrating guesswork. The zany machines aside, the factory looks
surprisingly bland. Willy isn't much of an interior designer, it appears.
Still, the game does a good job of capturing the charm of the book and
movie. Credit the very good voice acting and cute Oompa-Loompa
animations.
Bottom Line
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory will appeal most to younger players
wanting to collect every last chocolate bar and jelly bean.
Contributed by Evil Ryu (31577) on Aug 12, 2005.
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