You'll breeze through the story mode in afternoon if you're dedicated enough, but on the plus side, there are more minigames to be found outside of the main story. Some of these are single-player only, and some are simply variations of the sliding, chasing, and cooking from the main game. However, there are some multiplayer games to be played, like races, item-collection competitions, and a variant on king of the hill. There's also a multiplayer championship version of the single-player minigames where you can compete in cook-offs and sliding time trials. None of these games are exactly substantial, and they wear thin after a few plays each, but they're a welcome addition to what would otherwise be a very lean game. There are also some unlockable movies, pictures, and other film-related bric-a-brac to unlock as well, if you're into that sort of thing.
There's not a great deal to please the eyes or ears in Ratatouille. Voice acting is about the best thing the audio has going for it, including some performances by actors from the film, like Patton Oswalt and Brian Dennehy. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of it, and very little of the dialogue is anywhere near as clever or amusing as what the film offers. Graphically, the game displays a few nice touches. The environments seem appropriately large, and some of the animations, especially those of Linguini as he hacks together various dishes, are mildly amusing. But everything else in the game has a bland look to it. Remy's movements are stiff, most of the human movements are even stiffer, and environmental detail is minimal. There's little difference to speak of between any of the older console, PC, or Wii versions of Ratatouille. The PC version predictably looks the sharpest, and the PS2 version looks the dullest, though the differences are minor all around.
Minigames, chases, and sliding sequences do a bit to break up the monotony of the standard missions.
There are also some slight control differences to note between versions. The PC version requires a decent gamepad to play properly, and the Wii version dabbles in motion controls. You don't have to do much in the main game besides waggle the remote to attack enemies and steer the camera awkwardly by holding down the C button and pointing with the Wii Remote to drag it around. The minigames also make use of the Wii Remote, specifically the cooking minigames, where you'll peel potatoes and fold crepes by making various motions. With the exception of the camera movement, these controls are basically responsive and implemented well enough.
And that's the thing about Ratatouille--everything it does is done well enough to function, but never beyond that. It's edible without ever being especially tasty. It's the sort of game that will satisfy a younger fan of the film for a few lazy afternoon hours, and then be forgotten about immediately afterward. It's hard to justify paying between $40 and $50 for any version of such an ultimately disposable game (the PC version is, at least, going for $20), but if your kid is desperate to relive Remy's adventures for him or herself, Ratatouille isn't a bad game to rent. And if you're old enough to feel embarrassed whining to your parents about buying you a game based on an animated film, you're officially too old for Ratatouille, and should just skip it altogether.
Ratatouille (Wii):
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