What if I told you I had found a Disney movie with a videogame tie in that is surprisingly good? Not perfect, but where the good definitely outweighs the bad. Would you believe me? A few years ago I know you wouldn't have, but these days companies are getting better and better at putting some effort into their licenses; Over the Hedge was a solid experience, Chicken Little: Ace In Action is a refreshing take on a franchise and has little to do with the film itself, and now Meet The Robinsons offers a platform, puzzle and shooter hybrid that's reminiscent of many other great games.

Perhaps as a nice gesture, Buena Vista Games have crafted a storyline that ties in with the film but doesn't spoil any of the plot, so if you haven't watched the movie and you'd like to then you can play the game without fear. Taking control of Wilbur Robinson, the young and reckless boy of the family, you start the game off running around the Robinson Mansion while secretly trying to get into trouble using the family's time machine, which, before long, ends up missing when the Man in the Bowler Hat steals it - and off you go on the adventure of a lifetime! Well, maybe not for Wilbur, seeing as how the game's introduction level sees him going back in time to snap a photo in an ancient Egyptian pyramid, but it's still a big adventure!

Exploring the mansion is actually quite a bit of fun, largely because of the unique world the game takes place in. The Robinson family are famous scientists and thus have a huge home full of bizarre gadgets, designs and people - such as a character who lives inside potted flowers throughout the house and pokes out just to yell and hide again! The design of the levels, characters and world are straight from the movie's retro sci-fi roots, full of round robots and speedtrains right in the middle of the Robinsons' living room - and it looks great, not only capturing the film world but also doing the consoles proud with superb design and slick, polished graphics. There's a noticeable difference between the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions too - a lot of effort has been put into the visuals here and the look of the game is surprisingly close to its source material.

The gameplay is a mixture of various platform genres, minus most of the actual platform aspects. Taking a cue from Zelda, Meet The Robinsons has no jump button, replacing it with context-sensitive actions for climbing and sliding along walls. Jumps are automatic, so the actual platform jumping aspect doesn't factor into the gameplay much. The game mostly incorporates puzzles and shooting throughout, as well as a couple of recurring mini-games to break up the action.

The puzzles are mostly well thought out and involve large physical objects blocking your progression; almost all of them need to be solved by using your two main weapons, the Disassembler and the Havoc Glove. The disassembler sends a large electrical shock into whatever you fire at, either breaking it apart and giving you items (one of three forms of currency, or hidden items like concept art and blueprints), or zapping it out of commission so you can attack it with your other weapon, the havoc glove. Used originally for the game of Charge Ball - a mini-game you'll become familiar with - the glove allows you to throw a ball of energy at enemies, objects and even rebound it off objects to hit multiple items at once - something that comes in handy for solving those puzzles.

Everything sounds good so far - and it really is. The weapons and indeed the whole universe, as well as the varied environments you play through, are really well done; the weapons can be upgraded, there are plenty of new items to create from unlocked blueprints, the mini-games are fun and the achievements require multiple plays through (depending on how thorough you are), while the story is well realized. The faults come in when you start to control the various weapons at your disposal though; a very strict targeting system is used that, like every targeting system, attempts to guess what you want to target and usually gets it wrong. You can cycle enemies or objects while in target mode but you'll constantly fumble around random objects - some even on other sides of the room. It just doesn't work very well and often results in frustration as you try to attack the right enemy.

You can shoot without targeting, but only straight ahead; and the secondary fire mode, where you aim yourself, is also touchy and won't work unless you aim directly at the appropriate object so that it lights up as being targeted. It really does become a problem, especially in large firefights, but doesn't ruin the experience because you can learn to deal with it. The only other major drawback is the overall length, as the game is over in a few hours.

The sound also has a few problems, namely the repetitive music (which is a shame, since the music is quite good). The voice acting is solid and makes use of the film's voice cast, while the weapon sounds are wholly satisfying, but unfortunately suffer from the ever-present problem of repetition, particularly with enemies. It isn't a huge problem like it was with Fuzion Frenzy 2, but it does happen. Overall the sound is good and shouldn't annoy anyone too much, but you'll probably soon tire of the overused theme song.

There are a couple of faults, but when weighed up against the many positive aspects of Meet The Robinsons, they're just not a big deal. The game is a lot of fun, makes great use of the license, will definitely appeals to the children (although the aiming system will be a bit hard on them at first) and is even enjoyable for older gamers out there who want a light-hearted platform adventure with an enjoyable story, setting and concept - you should definitely Meet the Robinsons!

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).