The Munchables blend equal parts Pac-Man and Katamari Damacy. The graphics fit extremely well for the title, despite not being of the hyper realism school that is all the rage in current games. All players have to do here is to om nom nom nom on their enemies – by eating baddies, the characters will grow larger and be able to take on more in the way of obstacles. The game play itself is intuitive, ensuring that the title is worthy of the “Everyone†tag that is present on the box.
Namco Bandai has ensured that players will find tremendous worth for their money, as the inclusion of a character decal along with different tweaks to the game – the “Mirror Mode†– which flips the stages and is timed – ensure that The Munchables will be on players’ minds for months to come. Furthermore, the ability to personalize your character in The Munchables imbues upon one’s experience something truly unique – that you are playing your character, rather than are being guided along the rails without any semblance of free will. After one gets done with the single player options, a second-player option is present, allowing players to flesh out further the nooks and crannies of the title.
The Munchables is a title that I can see easily getting into franchise territory; there can be so many iterations of this unique game play that players would be able to keep their interest throughout the end of the decade and well into the next. If you like fun games that still require a little bit of skill, The Munchables should be the next title that you buy for the Wii, and hopefully Namco Bandai will be able to port it over to all of the other extant consoles soon enough. Regardless, The Munchables is a title that you should be searching out this summer.
Rating: 8.9/10
The Munchables (Nintendo Wii) / 2009 Namco Bandai / http://www.namcobandaigames.com