Xbox 360 Review: Night At The Museum 2

Categories: 360, DS, Games, Microsoft, Nintendo, PC, Wii | one response

Even though I pretty much knew that Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was going to be geared to my 9 & 11 year olds, I secretly hoped there would be something in it for the adults. Maybe some tongue in cheek humor or references to something that is beyond the ‘E 10+’ rating. Alas, my hopes were dashed as I (along with my 9 year old daughter) played through this by-the-numbers romp through the United States most well known museum. As an added bonus, there is a lot of solid historical information to be learned throughout the game. But all is not lost, as it turned out to be a few hours of fun for the demographic it was targeting; namely the tween set.

Let me set the record straight now, I have yet to see the movie. With that in mind, I did read through the various synopsizes online along with the story spoilers just to make the comparison. The plot of the game seems to follow the plot of the movie pretty much step-by-step. That would be alright if the storyline for the movie was a bit better. As an adult, I didn’t care for it, but my daughter loved it. The game itself is not much longer than the movie either. We blew through it in less than 6 hours & got all the achievements. Basically, you play as Larry (the Guardian of Brooklyn). You find out that the museum in New York (the location from the first film) is going digital with the exhibits being swapped out for holograms. Larry arrives at the museum to find his “friends” being packed up as they are being moved to the Smithsonian. The first level is your basic tutorial level, teaching the player the basics of the game. Well, let me restate that: teaching the player everything about the game. What you learn in the tutorial is pretty much all the game has to offer. Sure, there is a flying level later on, but there really isn’t anything to it.

The game play is your basic run around, picking up objects & completing objectives. To vary things up a bit, your flashlight gains special powers from the Tablet of Akhmenrah (the same tablet that brings everything to life in the museum). You can do things like fix mechanical objects, repair paintings (and bring some to life), find hidden items, etc… The flashlight is your key to all the puzzles. This would be fine if the game didn’t tell you when to use it. It kinda removed the whole ‘figuring things out’ part of the puzzle process. But, as I have said, this game is geared for the tweens, so my daughter enjoyed it & needed the help. As you progress through each level, there are hidden item objectives that go along with the main story objectives. If you are even remotely thorough as you play through, you should have no trouble completing these as well. The only changes to the gameplay is one platforming level as your little Roman friend works his way through a vending machine & one flying level where Larry & Amelia Earhart fly to escape the museum. That’s not to say there is no difficulty though. The jumping mechanic is a bit loose & the flashlight isn’t quite as accurate as it could be, so some areas of the game were a trial & error process. You don’t actually die in the game. Once your health runs out, you restart from a checkpoint.

So, how does the game look and sound? Not too bad. The graphics have a cartoony feel, even though they are fully rendered 3D models. They weren’t anything to wow you over, but they were passable. It looks like they tried to get close to Ben Stiller’s likeness for the character of Larry. The voice acting wasn’t too bad even though the script was lacking something. Comedy maybe? The only actor from the film that makes an appearance in the game is Ben Stiller, reprising his role of Larry. Beyond that, as far as I could tell, no one else from the film is present in the game. The soundtrack was passable as well, so passable that it was pretty much forgettable for me. The tweeners will have no problems with it though.

Overall, I liked the game for what it was, a movie tie-in for the pre-teen set. If you walk into it with any expectations higher than that, you will be let down before you get out of the tutorial. Will it wow you? Nope. But it will make a satisfying afternoon of playtime with you & your preteen/tweener. And that’s what it’s all about, right?

Look for it in stores now for the Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS/DSi & Wii.