GENRE
	Platformer
	DEVELOPER
	Namco Bandai
	PUBLISHER
	Namco Bandai
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Sometimes games are just games for the sake of fun, and The Munchables is one of those games. Big guns and even bigger explosions aren't needed to make a game enjoyable. For Munchables, creative environments, catchy tunes and walking, talking vegetables bring fun to a game that shouldn’t be overlooked. Explore the world of Star Ving with Chomper, Munchy and the Great Elder-- eating as many vegetables as you can along the way.

Bright colors and crazy landscapes are in full force during The Munchables-- everything looks as if it were pulled straight out of a children’s storybook. The style is actually very reminiscent of the Monkey Ball series, with the various vegetables you encounter each given a funny facelift and the main characters displaying a lot of emotion for being just a ball with a face.

The game's environments are made up of everyday items found in the real world-- platforms are made out of cardboard, complete with corrugated edges, colored craft papers are taped down to give color to everything. This is a visual style that's being used more often in games, but here it's effective and gets you noticing the game world's details, trying to find out what things are made of.

On the other hand, the audio is a bit of a mismatch. For some reason there is well-performed voice acting in the last two missions of the game, but for only half of those two missions's duration. The voice acting is good when it’s there, but showing up so late, and then not throughout a whole stage, it seems out of place. There should have been more voice work or none at all.

The music is cleverly done, though. The tunes are bright, cheerful and somewhat catchy. They wouldn't at all be out of place in a Saturday morning cartoon and fit well with everything else. Sirens go off when main character Chomper is attacked, and the constant munching sounds remind you exactly what the point of the game is.

Speaking of Chomper (and Munchy, the alternate female main character), players take control of a creature that can only be described as a modern day Pac-Man. You begin on the planet Star Ving, where the insanely cute and ever-hungry race of beings known as the Munchables live. You have the choice of controlling either the male character Chomper or the female character Munchy; both are armless, legless moving mouths.

At the game's beginning, you find out that the Munchables’ homeland has been taken over by a race of evil vegetables known as the Tabemon. They are stealing objects known as Power Orbs, which are revered by the Munchables. A being known as the Great Elder implores you to take back the island by eating all of the invading Tabemon pirates.

From there you begin your quest. It is the job of Chomper (or Munchy) to roam the island's various locales, eating everything in sight. The Great Elder will tell Chomper the area's specific goal (such as eat a specific number of Tabemon) and assign him a starting level, displayed over Chomper's head. This level determines which enemies can be eaten-- if an enemy has a lower level, it's edible. Eating smaller Tabemon vegetables will fill up a stomach meter, and as it fills Chomper’s level will rise.

If an enemy is too big to be eaten, the required level Chomper needs to reach is shown over the enemy's head. Luckily, if Chomper has not yet reached that level, the enemy can still be attacked by pressing the B button and performing a charge attack, which will break the high-level Tabemon into smaller version of itself that can be eaten. Occasionally, an enemy will still be too big, but it can be broken up as many times as required. If too much time is taken before the smaller versions are eaten, though, they may join back together and the process will need to be repeated. The Pirate Leaders, as they are known, are the boss encounters found every few levels. The only difference between these fights and the other encounters in the game is that they have a weak spot that must be found in order to properly reduce their size.

There are many different types of areas to explore in Munchables that range from standard grassy plains to ruined temples, giant windmills and the ocean floor. Overall, there are eight different areas with 3 levels each.

Chomper moves around these areas by pushing the analog stick. Higher areas can be accessed by flicking the Wii Remote to jump, enemies are locked on with the nunchuk's Z button. The lock on comes in handy during underwater levels where it’s not always easy to tell where you are in relation to the Tabemon underwater. Otherwise, if there are a large number of enemies in an area, you can hold the A button to charge up Chomper, and then he'll dash towards them and swallow them all at once. If the remote and nunchuk control style doesn't suit you, Munchables also supports gameplay with the Classic Controller in a nice touch.

As you go through the game's adventure, hidden acorns can be discovered in each level, which act as a way to open unlockable features. If all of a level's acorns are found, the Great Elder gives a present in the form of an article of clothing that can be used to customize Chomper or Munchy. These can be anything from a pair of glasses, to a mohawk, a Native American headdress or even a flower that sprouts from your head. Only one accessory can be equipped at any time, so the amount of customization is somewhat limited.

Otherwise, there's not much variation in the gameplay, other than the different types of vegetables that can be eaten. Every level basically consists of Chomper or Munchy eating everything, until there's nothing left to eat. The main quest should take around five to six hours to complete, with any given level taking around 15 minutes. Nevertheless, while it's the same kind of gameplay throughout, The Munchables never got old and was never boring. There is just something quite comical in seeing Chomper roam around, eating everything he comes in contact with.

Once the main quest has been finished, a mirror mode is unlocked, which is not exactly what it sounds like it would be. While the levels are in fact mirrored, Mirror Mode is more of a time attack, where you go through the game again trying to finish everything as quickly as possible.

On the multiplayer side, there's a two player mode in The Munchables-- it's very similar to the two player mode found in Super Mario Galaxy. The second player controls a cursor that can be used to shoot Tabemon onscreen. This causes the evil vegetables to break apart, much like Chomper's dash attack. While simple, this gameplay addition gives younger players who aren’t quite ready to control the bulk of the action a chance to help older family members while giving the kids a sense they're helping to complete the game. In practice with a young child, this was actually a lot of fun, and it made some of the levels a little easier to finish thanks to the child being able to concentrate on making the Tabemon small enough for the older gamer to concentrate on eating.

There's a lot of humor to be found while playing Munchables and the gameplay, while basically the same throughout the game, never really gets old. The dialogue at the end of the levels is witty and will even cause a few chuckles.

In essence, The Munchables is very much like what Pac-Man would be were he to be brand new today. The ability to have a friend help was a welcome addition as well. For $30.00 there’s not much reason to pass this title by-- it’s a unique experience not yet to be had on Wii and will provide many hours of gluttonous eating fun.

8.0/10