THQ was kind enough to send me over some stuff pertaining to their latest game UP, which is based on the new Disney Pixar movie of the same name. So I’ve got information, a bunch of screenshots and in-game videos that I grabbed for you to check out. The game is primarily a kids game of course, but I had fun playing it. UP is a platform style game basically with aerial and water based levels as well included to mix things up, along with a multiplayer mode thrown is for extra added fun. So read on to learn more…

THQ also sent me over a cool UP branded aluminum water bottle, very nice of them, and it’s a nice quality bottle as well, it even has a carabineer and compass on it.

THQ Disney Pixar Up The Videogame

Movie: May 29th 2009
Game: May 26th 2009

The Game:
The Up video game will take players on an exotic adventure with Carl Fredricksen and his young sidekick, Wilderness Explorer Russell, as they set off on a wild journey through the undiscovered jungles of South America.  Players will be able to experience all four main characters from the movie — Carl, Russell, Dug the lovable dog or Kevin the prehistoric bird — while playing as a single-player or with a friend cooperatively throughout the entire game.  Players will encounter exciting, new environments as they navigate through treacherous jungle terrains, battle dangerous creatures and trek the slippery slopes of the Amazonian Tepuis.  In addition, the game also features multi-player game modes, including an epic level that will allow up to four players to compete in aerial combat. 

For more information on the Up video game, please visit http://www.upvideogame.com. 

Information on the rest of THQ’s line-up of family-friendly titles is also available on http://www.playthq.com. 

The Movie:
From Disney•Pixar comes “Up,” a comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America.  But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.   From the Academy Award-nominated director Peter Docter (Monsters, Inc.), Disney•Pixar’s Up invites film goers on a hilarious journey into a lost world, with the least likely duo on Earth.  Up will be presented in Disney Digital 3-D in select theatres. The film is due for release on May 29, 2009.

If you read the description above you’d know there are four main playable characters in UP, Carl the old man, Russell the little boy Wilderness Scout, Dug the dog and Kevin the bird.

As I mentioned in the intro, UP is primarily a platform game, but it’s three dimensional and does take advantage of the latest video cards with several options for taking advantage of things like Anti-Aliasing.

While playing UP, you’re not just playing with one character, you’re actually playing with two, and there are points that you’ll need both to accomplish a task to continue on in the game. For instance Carl can climb up on a ledge and use his cane to pull Russell up since he’s too short to reach, or you can use Russell to boost Carl up to a ledge that he can’t reach. It can be played single player or cooperative, in single player you need to switch between the characters. The AI will take over the character you’re not playing and for the most part knows what to do, it seems fairly ‘smart’.  Russell is a Wilderness Scout, or a Boy Scout basically and he knows a few things about being stuck in the wood or the wilderness. Russell starts off with a mirror that he can just to re-direct the sun at would-be attackers like snakes and porcupines that get in the way, as you play you’ll collect more things as well that you’ll need to help you continue on.

and here’s the video to go along with those screenshots above:

 

Graphics are decent, they’re not realistic, this is a kids game after all, but they look pretty good.

and here’s the video that goes with those screenshots:

 

The controls take a bit to get accustomed to at the default, luckily though they can be reconfigured in the settings. It’s also a bit disconcerting  when you’re switching characters it’s kind of hard to tell who you’re controlling at first.

I’ve got kids and they sat still and quiet while I was playing UP, so I know this game will do well with children, it’s bright and colorful and cute, all of the things a kids games should be.

So if you’ve got kids be on the lookout for both the game and the movie, and if you don’t have kids head on over to the official website and grab the demo to try it out, it’s a fun little game really.