Rango: The Video Game Review (4/10)

Rango, Johnny Depp's latest film based around a lizard who finds himself an unlikely cowboy in the Wild West, looks pretty good, and with any luck I should have a full review on the blog before month's end, but boy, I hope the video game tie-in isn't representative of the movie's quality! Depp voices his character, yet he doesn't seem to have put much effort into the adapted role, sounding basic as if just an hour was spent recording the lines, and while it's nice that the likes of Isla Fisher; Bill Nighy and even the omniscient singing owls do make great appearances, there's no doubting Rango: The Video Game comes off as an afterthought more than a fully fledged spin off. As always with this type of game, the engine is one that has simply been recycled, involving punching, shooting and dodging galore as most animation titles do. I don't think I need to spend much longer talking about this mediocre effort: the visuals are decent but nowhere near the standard of the Toy Story 3 and Kung Fu Panda tie-ins, the game-play is predictable and judging by the film trailers the plot has nothing to do with the flick (and not in a good way). In other words, unless you're absolutely crazy for all things Depp, stay well away.