Kerner’s chefs, Jamie Oliver, Tim Mälzer and, and, and – on television, everything is cooked to order. Reason enough for Pixar to set an animated film in the gourmet world. Of course, there is no getting around the licensed games that go with it. The positive thing first: instead of porting one and the same game to all platforms, they were divided according to hardware power (the versions for PS2 & Wii and PS3 & Xbox 360 all have the same content). What they all have in common is that the action doesn’t primarily take place in the kitchen, but in jumping and skill sequences. The bad news: no Ratatouille is anywhere near as much fun as the film.
While the PS2 and Wii versions are best suited to young gamers thanks to their straightforward gameplay, older players (including fans of the film) will soon get bored. Unfortunately, opting for the HD rat games also turns out to be a mistake: the potential that is there (more freedom to explore, nicer graphics, more interesting tasks) is torpedoed by major mistakes such as a confusing mission structure, technical glitches, long loading times and instant deaths.
Things are looking best in the handheld sector: the PSP version in particular offers solid jumping action paired with nice visuals. The same applies to the DS version, which is difficult to control with the D-pad – luckily you can switch to a Phantom Hourglass-inspired stylus tap control. The problem with the DS version: after a good three hours you have mastered the (visually somewhat pixelated) adventure. The entertaining Cooking Mama cooking scenes make up for this.
