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My favorite monster was B.O.B. Being a pile of goo, Bob can walk through screen doors, stick to walls and ceilings, and devour just about anything. All of these abilities work together to create some really clever puzzle style platforming. B.O.B. will fall through a screen if his stomach is empty, but can't do so if he has eaten a crate or alien, which you can see floating around inside him. All of B.O.B.'s skills are used to navigate some mind bending, Escher style mazes. Another highlight was swallowing a guard and using his DNA to open locked doors. By far, this monster's levels were the best parts of the game.
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Dr. Cockroach is the last monster represented, and he is where the co-op comes in. A second player can drop in at any time, and controls Dr. Cockroach's beam weapon, represented by a reticle. Usually, I am against this type of co-op, as you may recall from my Wii Call of Duty World at War review. However, it somehow works for this game. For one thing, it would be perfect for a really young player, which is the likely audience. Dr. Cockroach also functions as the narrator, and is in cut scenes, so the second player still feels involved in the story. Doc's beams can be upgraded, too, adding a charge up blast and a tractor beam to the arsenal. If Dr. Cockroach fires too quickly, the weapon overheats temporarily. We found ourselves working together quite a bit more than I expected. On several bosses, Dr. Cockroach ends up doing most if not all of the damage himself. I found myself having a good time with the co-op, even given the limitations of being player two.
Monsters Vs. Aliens is a surprisingly good game. The B.O.B. levels in particular were appealing to even a seasoned gamer like myself. The graphics were pretty much dead on to what you'd see in the movie. If I had any complaints, it would be that the game is somewhat repetitive, but changing up the monsters so often helps to alleviate this. I'd estimate the game to be about eight hours long minimum, with additional content in the unlockables adding a moderate amount of replay value. The co-op isn't as strong as I would have liked, but this game is by far the best implementation of "player two as a set of cross-hairs" I've played. The game itself is very good, and often great; don't let the relatively low co-op score turn you away from it.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
The Co-Op Experience: A second player can pick up a controller and drop in at anytime as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. As the most brilliant scientist in the world, players can blast and beam away enemies with tricky gadgets, plus reach hard to access places that only the smartest of cockroaches can get to. Based on the upcoming DreamWorks Animation 3D feature film, the Monsters vs. Aliens video game puts the fate of the planet in players’ hands as they lead a dynamic team of five misfit monsters on a mission to save the world…as only they can. The game allows fans to experience the movie’s action and humor while playing as The Missing Link, the macho half-ape, half-fish; the gelatinous, indestructible and always hungry B.O.B.; and Ginormica, the 49-foot-11-inch tall woman and Insectosaurus, the 350-foot tall grub. Players utilize each character’s distinct strengths, sizes and abilities to battle giant alien robots that are wreaking havoc on earth. Friends or family members can join in the excitement at anytime as the world’s most brilliant scientist, Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., in the unique co-op multiplayer mode. [Activision]
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.