For a Disney movie tie-in featuring talking rodents this game was . . . amazing!!
From the main menu of this game you have four choices. The first choice is "New Game". This is where you go the first time you fire this game up. You choose a difficulty level and get started. The second choice is "Load Game". This is where you go if you have a saved game in progress and want to continue your journey. The third choice is "Options". Under options you can adjust the Controls (layout, rumble feature, swap a/b buttons), the Display settings, the Audio settings, and the Gameplay settings (hint display). The final choice is "Credits", where you can view the names of all who contributed in the making of this game.
The game controls seem complicated at first, and although it does take a little while, once you get used to them they do make sense. The game requires the Wii nunchuk. On the nunchuk the "C-stick" is what physically moves your character around the environment. The "C button" does a couple of things. When you hold it down, in conjunction with pointing the Wii remote at the sensor, you can look around your environment 360 degrees. You can do this while moving your character at the same time. Also you use this button to interact with various objects you find throughout the levels such as vending machines and computer terminals. As for the "Z button", it works much the same as the C button. When you hold it down, again in conjunction with pointing the Wii remote at the sensor, it brings up your targeting crosshairs for shooting your weapon and allows you to view your environment 360 degrees. On the Wii remote the "A button" is used for a couple of things. Press it once and Darwin will jump. Press it again when in the air during a jump and it will engage your jetpack. Press it again (while hovering in jetpack mode) and it will give you a quick jetpack burst that will shoot you up in the air. As for the "B button", it has a couple of uses as well. When holding down the C button (as mentioned earlier), pressing the B button will make Darwin lash out with his Electro-whip weapon. By holding down the B button, releasing it, and then pressing it once more you can perform a charged Electro-whip attack. Also, while holding down the Z button (again as mentioned earlier), pressing the B button will fire the weapon you currently have selected. Without holding down either the C or Z buttons the B button has another use. When standing near an object that can be picked up by Darwin, hold down the B button to attract it to you. If you don't need the item press B again to throw it away. With regards to the Control Pad on the Wii remote, all four directions have a corresponding action. Darwin can have up to 3 weapons equipped at any given time. By pressing "left", "up" or "right" on the control pad you can cycle between said 3 weapons. To assign a different weapon to one of the buttons you just hold down that button until the weapon select screen comes up and away you go. As for the "down" direction on the control pad, by holding that button down you will engage Darwin's boost function. The down button is also used to drop from ledges or to drop held items (just tap once). The "- button" is used to engage Mooch. Press the button again when you are finished with him. The "+ button" is used to engage Darwin's infrared goggles when in dark areas (tap once), and by holding the button down you can display a hint as to your current objective in the game. The "1 button" you press in order to bring up the map screen, and the "2 button" is used to bring up the pause menu. Once in the pause menu your choices are Options, Load Game, Save Last Checkpoint, and Quite Game. Now, when in control of Mooch the controls are a little more simple. Again you physically move him by pressing on the "C-stick". To steer him in the direction you want to go you point the Wii remote at the sensor. Mooch can engage a "slow time" function where all the stuff going on around him slows down. To do this simply hold down the "C button". The "A button" is used to carry/set down environmental objects, and the "B button" is used to shoot his little laser beam.
As for the game itself, it consists of 5 "chapters" containing a total of around 25 levels. The first couple of chapters take place at the Saber mansion/offices, the third chapter takes place at a Saberling production facility, the fourth chapter takes place at FBI headquarters, and the fifth chapter takes place at the Saberling satellite facility. In the early chapters of the game there are on average more levels per chapter than there is later in the game, but the levels themselves are somewhat short. As you move on to the final chapters of the game there are less levels but the levels themselves become quite lengthy. There are actually a couple levels where I started to wonder if they were ever going to end at all! In terms of what challenges you face during the game, there are few levels where you face hordes upon hordes of enemies all at once. This game actually maintains a good balance between action and thinking in order to get you through. You do have to face a steady stream of enemies as you progress through the game, but you also have to figure out various puzzles, utilize numerous environmental objects, and discover the correct way to navigate through each area (usually using some manner of ductwork).
During the game there are a few things to watch out for. In each level there will normally be 2 or 3 silver data disks to find. They are typically fairly well hidden but are very important as they represent upgrades to Darwin's health and weapons. There will also be boxes/crates scattered throughout. When you destroy these objects a little treat is left behind, usually a Saber sense chip, some ammo for your various weapons, or some health. Also, when you destroy the enemy Saberling appliances they will normally leave behind a Saber sense chip as well. These Saber sense chips come in three denominations: 10, 25 and 50. You use these chips to purchase the weapons in the game as well as all of the various upgrades (ammo, health, etc.). In order to purchase these upgrades you need to find a Saber vending machine. These machines are pretty prevalent in most of the levels, there are usually 3 or 4 of them scattered throughout. Once you have accessed a vending machine you are presented with six options. The first is "Weapons". This is where you purchase the weapons Darwin uses throughout the game, as they become available. The second is "Ammo" which is where you go if you want to top off the ammo levels of your various weapons. Next is "Ammo Capacity". Here you can upgrade the total amount of ammo Darwin can carry in each available weapon. The next is "Health". Under this option you can purchase two different things. First, if your health level is low you can totally replenish it. Second, you can purchase upgrades to both Darwin and Mooch's total health capacity (very important). The next option in the vending machine is "Map". Here you can purchase two different things. First, you can purchase a detailed mapped layout of the level you are playing, which makes it a lot easier to navigate than by just exploring it on your own. The second thing you can purchase is the locations of all silver data disks in the level. Purchasing this upgrade makes sure you know where the disks are and that you don't miss any. The last option is "Mooch Transmitter". When you dispatch Mooch and take control of him there is only a set amount of time he can be away from Darwin. By purchasing upgrades to the Mooch Transmitter it increases the amount of time he can be out on his own. Now, stuff like ammo and health replenishment as well as the map upgrades, can all be purchased at any time. However, the ammo capacity, health capacity, and mooch transmitter upgrades are all represented by the silver data disks you must find, so these upgrades can only be purchased once you've found the corresponding disk. As for the weapons themselves, they come to you in the form of gold data disks. You don't have to search for these disks because they are usually obtained in tandem with completing the main objective of a certain level. Once you have obtained a golden disk you can purchase the corresponding weapon from a vending machine. One other thing I forgot about is extra lives. They can be found hidden through the levels in the form of little red hearts. Darwin can have a maximum of 5 lives at any one time. If he uses them all he has to restart at the last reached checkpoint. I didn't find continuing a big problem in this game, I almost always got through the levels without having to start over with a continue.
The last part of the game I'll describe are the actual weapons. You start the game off with the "Plasma Cannon". Shot for shot I think this is the most powerful weapon in the game. Second is the "Cluster Rifle". Although not as powerful as the Plasma Cannon it has a rapid fire feature that works well against a multitude of smaller enemies. Next is the "Shot Bolter", which is also good against multitudes of enemies as it shoots out a cloud of projectiles that covers a good area, hitting many targets with one shot. Not overly powerful but gives you blanket coverage. Next are the "Freeze Gun" and the "Flamethrower" weapons, which I think should both be pretty self explanatory! That's it in terms of actual "weaponry". The next three weapons are more gadgets than anything. First is the "Nano-Hacker". When you shoot this weapon at an enemy appliance it gives you control over that appliance or makes it do something helpful for you that is outside of it's normal programming. To use this weapon you have to hold down the B button until the gauge fills. The next gadget is the "Saberlizer". It has two functions. First, if you point it at any object you come across throughout the game and hold down the B button, it will bring up a detailed description of said item. If it's any enemy appliance it may give you a hint on how to defeat it or some other useful sort of tip. The other use it has is if you come across an inactive appliance like a smoke detector or a motion sensor that you may need to be in working order. By pointing the Saberlizer at it and tapping the B button it will shoot a beam at the appliance which causes it to activate and go about it's normal business. Lastly we have the "Magnetic Grapple" gadget. There are some areas where you may need to proceed through the air for an extended period of time due to some disturbances at ground level. When Darwin's jetpack isn't enough to take you the distance there will usually be some wall mounted speakers in sight. When you Saberlize these speakers they release a little floating magnetic platform that can be used to get you up high and over the problem area. To utilize these magnetic platforms you engage your magnetic grapple at them.
As for how the game presents itself, they did a pretty crisp job with it. The graphics I found were well above average. They weren't top notch, but you can tell they went to more work than most do in polishing everything up just right. Most of the time during this game you are inside of ducts, darkened rooms and the like so it's not the most colourful of environments to be in. But they did add colour and vibrance where could and did a good job of it. The sound was also really good. This game was a good length and the fun factor was at a high level too. The only issue I had was to do with the controls. It was a more complicated set of controls but I found I did get used to them eventually. I just found that when looking around the environment in a hurry or while strafing enemies the camera control goes a bit crazy! But that may not be the controls that may just be me going mental when trying to dispatch a slew of enemies. No matter, that minor issue didn't even begin to put a taint on this impressive entry. Overall this was a solid, well above average game that I can't really find much fault with. And they left it open for a sequel too!