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Bolt Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Bolt Review for PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Bolt Has All Its Screws in Place

While licensed games often receive a bad rap, it seems as though Disney is determined to prove that they are a company that doesn’t rely solely on the game’s title and starring characters to sell copies. Bolt continues the trend of good Disney film-based licensed games, especially lately with platforms such as the pretty fun Wall-E, offering something in the way of ingenuity and quality.

Bolt screenshot

Blending a good mix of gameplay mechanics with excellent design and graphics and usually pretty humorous characters from the films often make Disney games more fun than your average licensed platform. With complex mazes, problem solving, and eye-hand coordination skills, these games are easy enough for a child to grasp yet become challenging enough for even a skilled gamer at times. Such games also offer a level of educational value with solid gaming elements without boring the player. While gamers who enjoy licensed titles are always skeptical about quality, for those who enjoy these types of children’s titles, Bolt is a good one to check out.

It’s a game that combines several different styles of gaming into one fun package, with a mix of not only maneuvering through platforms and unlocking pathways, but a fair amount of action as well. For much of the game, you’ll play as Bolt. Whereas the film follows the life of dog-actor Bolt who believes he has super powers, the game takes place inside of the fictional TV series he stars in. This enables Bolt the game to be entirely its own entity without relying on cheesy tie-ins from the film, as you are set on a mission of defeating the evil Calico and his cronies.

Bolt screenshot

Bolt the character acts as your powerhouse, with light and heavy attacks for button-mashing fun you can unleash on your worst oncoming attackers. The absence of intricate combo buttons and a detailed button setup is targeted at a young age group, and more mature gamers may find the mindless attacks to be boring and tedious while trying to complete various missions. But where platformers often don’t reward you enough for beating away cloned bad guys senseless as they run at you, this game has a power meter that builds up and lets you unleash super moves, which can help you defeat more difficult enemies later in the game. Bolt is also equipped with an eye laser and a super bark move that gives the little guy extra functionality. You’ll have to use either move sparingly though, as your meter drains as you use them.

Bolt screenshot

You’ll also play as Penny, who is better at traveling through platforms and obstacles equipped with her wheelbar – a long bar with two small wheels on each end. It is used to travel through gaps, which are conveniently spaced wide enough for the wheelbar to be used. You’ll also have to balance her along pipes and over gaps and have her hack various computers that will require you to hone your geometry to complete. Rather than beating away at enemies, you’ll have to use stealth techniques to sneak by them.

Bolt screenshot

Penny also has Enhanced Vision capabilities, which outlines the path you must take if you ever become stuck without clear direction. The feeling of having no idea where you are supposed to go is common in these types of games, and this skill is a good way of eliminating the problem. Playing as Penny, you will also have to partake in shooting mini-games as she cracks into computers and must zap intrusions throughout the circuit boards. The mix between the two characters is another enjoyable feature of this game, as the button-mash style of Bolt is mixed up nicely with the pace of Penny’s slower tasks. Using the team to work together makes for a nice change of gameplay styles in a brains-meets-brawn sort of way.

Something that often irks me about licensed games is the absence of dialogue in cutscenes and in gameplay, with a serious lack of voice acting. It’s usually a case of having to pay the original stars of the film or series to lend their voices, resulting in cutscenes and voice clips taken from the motion picture or having another voice actor step in. Either way is a better alternative to the somewhat dull cutscenes and the lack of intricate voice work present in Bolt. This game can’t help but seem unauthentic when Bolt never speaks throughout the entire story, though cutsenes aren’t without the cutesy humor one would expect.

The graphics are pretty amazing, another continual achievement by Disney Interactive. All environments are brightly lit and shiny, as you navigate through levels and the cartoon world is brought to life. Bolt doesn’t have graphical issues or slowdown to speak of, and adults will be able to appreciate the overall visual appeal just as much as children. Everything looks clear, and with festive music playing as the backdrop, playing through Bolt is a fun experience through-and-through.

For anyone who has enjoyed recent Disney titles such as Wall-E or other platform games like the recent LEGO Batman, Bolt is just as fun, putting new spins and different functions to otherwise standard platform tasks. In an age when licensed products tend to lack quality, Bolt is successful in its ability to become its own entity, without relying on plotlines of the film to tell a story. The lack of voiceover work does make the game feel stale at times, but Bolt offers enough functions to stay entertaining, with strong graphics to back them up.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
Environments and characters are bright and well animated, giving the game a cartoon aesthetic reminiscent of the film. 3.4 Control
More seasoned gamers may bore with the pace of Penny and the button mash attacks of Bolt, but this game is accessible for children while still enjoyable for adults. 2.3 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Lack of extensive voiceover work in cutscenes and repetitive in-game musical numbers are among the game’s biggest weaknesses. 3.9 Play Value
Children and grown-ups who enjoy the film and its characters will have fun with this game, which offers plenty of educational value with entertaining features. 3.7 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • New story inspired by action-packed TV show from the film!
  • Play as Bolt or Penny.
  • Bolt’s special powers: laser vision, ground pound and sonic bark.

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