The good thing about adaptations of films into video games is that there are no precise rules, no formula that can give us a clue as to the final quality of a product. Indeed, in the same way that a good film will not necessarily make a good game (Avatar, Iron Man, Harry Potter...), a mediocre film can be magnified once on console (Wolverine, Alice in Wonderland on DS). And even if on the whole, it is fashionable to point the finger at this video game "sub-genre", it can sometimes offer us some nice surprises. All this to tell you that by receiving The Kingdom of Ga'hoole on PS3 and X360, the adaptation of the excellent animated film by Zack Snyder, we could expect everything and its opposite. And in the end, we would rather be between the two...
Ga'hoole, the sobering cry
The Kingdom of Ga'Hoole: Legend of the Guardians does not exactly follow the scenario of the film. Indeed, if Snyder's animated plush told us about the adventures of Soren, a young owl who went in search of the Guardians, a sort of heroic legend from owl mythology, the video game on its side spares us the whole "quest" part. of the movie. From the first moments, we are therefore in the landmark of the Guardians (a large tree which shelters a tribe of owls) and we embody a young disciple of the Ga'hoole masters, Shrad, who will be required to carry out a few missions (27 to be precise ) in enemy territory. The eternal fight of Good against Evil therefore takes on a great look, since you are in the feathers of a majestic bird, ready to make your opponents' wings bleed in a few wild dogfights (or rather owlfights). The first sensations, controller in hand, are also rather pleasant. The graphics do not especially have a bewildering level of detail, but turn out to be colorful and rather harmonious. Certainly, we are very far from the current standards (we cry in front of the clipping for example), but for a port of film in game, we will be satisfied with this union minimum provided by the teams of Krome Studios which shows itself - and it is the essentials – true to Snyder's film. On the side of the satisfactions also, the very good invoice of the musics which stick perfectly to the fantasy and epic atmosphere of the world of Ga'hoole. In terms of maneuverability, Shrad responds perfectly to all our little pad strokes and moves through the air with grace and precision, whether in his movements or in his fights. The latter, well helped by a lock system not too badly designed, are also rather pleasant. Faced with five or six enemies, Shrad will have the opportunity to show off his power by chaining aerial combos, performing special moves or using decorative elements as weapons (the embers of a fire, for example, which can be thrown at enemies). In addition, Shrad will be supported in his missions by several accomplices that he can control remotely, ordering them with a simple pull of the trigger to attack a particular opponent. Very handy when the bad guys are coming in large numbers and you don't have time to stuff them yourself, too busy destroying enemy installations or freeing imprisoned young owls.
Owls, pebbles, toys...
Which brings us directly to the weak points of the title, which can be summed up in two words: gameplay and lifespan (ok, that's more than two). On the one hand, the gameplay therefore. If it is pleasant to control, our friend Shrad nevertheless seemed to us a bit limited in his actions. Indeed, the big sparrow that he is, the bugger is not capable of much with his little studs, certainly armed, but impractical when it comes to doing anything other than scratching others. birds. Thus, with its palette of three and a half movements, we will spend most of our time performing the same actions ad nauseam. Needless to say that passing two levels, we will be full of the feathers of the lack of variety and the repetitiveness of this title which would certainly have benefited from being more exhaustive in its content. Second concern: if The Kingdom of Ga'Hoole: The Legend of the Guardians has 27 main missions and a few bonus quests, the lifespan seemed to us to be frankly limited. Indeed, it took us a little less than four hours to get through it the first time. In one more hour, we had unlocked all the gold medals and therefore finished the title 100%. So certainly, we can think that this game was designed for the youngest (hence the disconcerting ease of certain missions) and that given its lack of variety, offering more than 5 hours of play would have been invigorating. But the fact remains that at 50€ the cake, we are entitled to expect a little more content... A deficiency which makes this The Kingdom of Ga'Hoole: The Legend of the Guardians a title all just average. For a video game film adaptation, some would say that's not bad!
