is a video game based on a movie based on a fictional video game. Now, I’m not a game

designer, but it would seem to me that a project like this is just a no-brainer. I mean, there’s

a really obvious game waiting to be made here.

And for the purpose of my own sanity, I’m willing to ignore that it wasn’t made. It’s

completely baffling, but whatever, I can’t review a game that doesn’t exist.

But after playing this one, I kind of wish I could.

This is Wreck-It Ralph for the Nintendo 3DS, and you might say, “Oh, like the game in

that movie?” And I’d say, “Well, kind of, but nowhere near as theoretically cool.”

Rather than take the made-up video game from the hit movie and turn into a real game with

a cool retro style...we get a real generic platformer.

Ugh. I want to wreck it!

Anyway, Wreck-It Ralph is a very simple platformer. You control both Wreck-It Ralph and Fix-It

Felix, two characters from the fictional game Wreck-It Ralph, as they try to vanquish the

“bugs” that are destroying their arcade. This translates into gameplay that’s perfectly

fine for little kids, but way too boring for anyone else.

The details are so self-evident and cliched that they probably don’t even warrant an

explanation, but nonetheless...Ralph is your strong character, Felix is the nimble one.

Ralph can break stuff, Felix can double jump and wall climb. You can swap between them

whenever you’d like to get through the levels.

Usually, there’s a sign that tells you when.

There are basically two practical problems with Wreck-It Ralph. I guess the simple gameplay

would be fine if the levels were fun to navigate, but they’re not. They’re a collection

of platforms and crates with very little creativity—that’s the first problem. Secondly, there are only

four worlds, each with a handful of levels.

So it’s both generic and short. Not a great combination.

I get that a game like this is meant to be more of an advertising ploy than a creative

video game, and that’s fine...but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. A game that

actually did something with the Wreck-It Ralph concept would’ve at least been interesting

and fun. Playable as it may be, this game is anything but.