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> Results: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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by Cary Woodham
August 07, 2005
Take a tour of Willy Wonkaﾒs chocolate factory on your Game Boy Advance!
Reviewed for GBA.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Game Boy Advance is based on this year's summer movie, which is a remake of an older movie, which, in turn, is all based on a classic children's book. Get all that? Eccentric candy maker Willy Wonka has initiated a contest. Five golden tickets are hidden inside his Wonka candy bars. Whoever finds a ticket gets a tour of Wonka's grand candy and chocolate factory. Four bratty kids and one poor but honest kid each find a golden ticket. You play as the poor but honest kid, Charlie Bucket. Keep the other brats out of trouble while you help Wonka and the Oompa Loompas save the factory!
This is a pretty standard 2D action-platform game that you've seen many times before on the GBA. Help Charlie avoid various candy-coated traps and mechanized factory machines to reach the end of the level. Collect candy and WONKA letters to unlock arcade-like mini-games and movie stills. Special candies even let you jump higher, run faster, or even fly temporarily. In some levels, the Oompa Loompas will help you out, giving this game a more puzzle-like feel. If you find one, you can have that Oompa Loompa follow you around. But your midget pal's movement is limited and you'll have to give them tools like see-saws and candy balloons to get them where they need to be. Give the Oompa Loompas the proper tools that you find around the room so they can open doors, fix switches, and break down rock candy walls so you can progress to the next area. This gameplay aspect kind of reminded me of guiding the little toy Marios in Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
The game features actual scenes from the movie in the story sections, but the game level graphics are more cartoony. Music is bubbly and bouncy and play control is pretty good. The game saves your progress as well as high scores in the mini-games. While the puzzle aspects with the Oompa Loompas make things a bit more interesting, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is still a me-too GBA platformer, and may not be worth your time.
Basic gameplay, simple controls, and little to no violence make this a pretty acceptable kids game. Some reading skill is required to read the story sections and hints, but it's not necessary. Some of the later puzzles with the Oompa Loompas can get surprisingly tricky, and if you lose all your energy you have to start the puzzle over. This can get frustrating sometimes. If your kids really liked the movie, they may enjoy this game.
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> Results: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
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