It probably won’t make it to the back of the game’s box, but you get to fly on the back of a bat in Rango: The Videogame.
Yes, Behaviour Interactive’s upcoming title based on the animated Gore Verbinski film will let you glide through the air on the back of nature’s most majestic of creatures. That alone might not sell the masses, but it certainly got my attention.
After going hands-on with three of the game’s nine stages, it’s clear there’s a solid title with surprising variety lurking underneath what could have been just another “fly on the back of a bat” simulator.
Rango (Xbox 360 [previewed], PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS)
Publisher: Paramount Digital Entertainment
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Release date: March 1, 2011
Rango tells the tale of a pet chameleon, one who believes himself destined to be a hero. He gets his chance when he’s thrust into the role of the sheriff of the miniature Old West town of Dirt. That’s where Behaviour Interactive picks things up, with players as Rango exploring areas beyond what the film will have to offer when it hits theaters on March 4.
From a game mechanics perspective, Rango doesn’t seem to break any new ground, owing quite a bit to Insomniac’s popular Ratchet & Clank series. It’s all about shooting, platforming, brawling, and — yes, I’m going to harp on it — hopping on the back of a bat to take flight.
Controls draw inspiration from the third-person action titles that came before it, locking on targets with the left trigger, firing off rounds with the right as you strafe back and forth to avoid crowds of gun-toting lizards in cowboy hats. Rango can also get in the faces of his enemies with powerful melee attacks, stringing together combos for multiplier bonuses, even rolling into them before landing a powerful uppercut.
It’s not all about aggressive action, as Rango also mixes in light platforming elements, and puzzles. In one of the games areas, I hopped on a rail with the Y button, grinding down a roller coaster-like maze of pipes. Jumping over and dodging obstacles, I eventually jumped up to grab a string of festive Halloween pumpkin lights as I continued on my way.
Taking even more cues from Ratchet & Clank, everything you destroy — be it enemies, barrels, or boxes — explodes into a satisfying blast of collectible sheriff’s stars. Rango can redeem these stars at locations across the game’s levels to upgrade abilities; picture Resident Evil 4’s merchant, but only as a lizard wearing a trench coat and a fedora.
Rango also contains a surprising amount of variety in terms of locations and set pieces. In addition to the expected Old West desert towns, I explored an alien space craft and stepped into a warp zone that zapped me into the 8-bit world of a dusty, abandoned arcade machine in the level “Nowhere & Back.”
“I’m in 8-bit hell!” shouts Rango, as he’s transported to a 3D Dot Game Heroes-style world made up of orange and yellow blocks. Even the game’s enemies take on a 3D, almost Minecraft-like appearance, made up of various blocks and bits. The music here — scored by Han Zimmer’s own composition team — is also a highlight, an odd mixture of sounds that can best be described as Ennio Morricone meets chiptunes.
Rango’s not entirely about shooting and jumping, although that’s definitely its core — variety also spills over into gameplay. During one level, “Zombie Invasion,” I was tasked with holding back a horde of zombie lizards as they pile on top of one another to tear down a metal fence. Using a golf club and my trust A button, I made Rango send an exploding bug into the air, doing damage to the ravenous crowd. And let’s not forget about flight — all three levels ended with Space Harrier-style flight sections, including one on top of the much ballyhooed bat, and one (quite inexplicably) on a flying goldfish.
Developer Behaviour Interactive also got a helping hand in the visual department from Hollywood visual effects studio wizards, Industrial Light and Magic. It shows, too — getting assets from ILM keeps the game consistent with what I’ve seen in trailers for the film, and looks sharp and smooth in action on your television screen.
Games based on films get a bad rap, and games based on animated films have it even worse. Fortunately, the current trend in the industry seems to be leaning towards developers and publishers giving these titles more care and attention. Rango The Videogame looks to continue that movement, and being able to ride a bat is really just the icing on the cake.
Rango The Videogame is out March 1 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Wii; the Xbox 360 version of the game was played for this preview. Bats.
