Attack of the Movies 3D Review for Xbox 360

System: X360, Wii	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Panic Button	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Majesco	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: May 18, 2010	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-4	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Teen	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

If you decide to ignore our advice and buy this game, you have two platforms to choose from (assuming you own both consoles): the Xbox 360 and the Wii. The Xbox 360 has better graphical capabilities, obviously, and the 3-D effects do come off a little more naturally. However, the 360 version doesn't exactly max out the system's capabilities, so we highly recommend taking a slight graphical downgrade and going with the Wii version.

Attack of the Movies 3D screenshot

Why? The controls. On the Wii, not surprisingly, players simply point and shoot. It's obvious and intuitive. If you've played a Wii shooter (rail or otherwise) before, it will seem perfectly natural, and if you haven't, it won't take more than a few minutes to get your bearings. On the Xbox 360, in contrast, players have to hold the left joystick at an angle to aim, and when they let it go, the cursor snaps back to the center of the screen. Thus, aiming anywhere but the center of the screen is a huge challenge until you master the controls.

To be fair, there's no good way to handle a rail shooter with a traditional controller, and every attempt to do so (even the Nintendo 64/Virtual Console classic Sin & Punishment) has required a lot of getting-used-to on the player's part. Still, the fact that you can't adjust the controls to your liking, even to invert the Y axis, doesn't help at all. Why spend hours learning the control scheme on the Xbox when you can jump right in on the Wii?

If we haven't been sufficiently clear, even at its discount ($30) price, Attack of the Movies 3D is not a good buy. There are simply too many good action games for this to be a worthwhile investment of money and time. The well-done 3-D effects offer a glimpse into the future, but without a good game to back them up, they amount to no more than a gimmick.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

2.5

Graphics
Primitive, to say the least, but the 3-D is done well.

4.1

Control
These are well-done on both systems. Because of the inherent advantages of the Wii-mote for the rail-shooter genre, though, we recommend going with Nintendo's console if you have a choice.

3.9

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music, unlike the graphics, actually does a good job of making the game feel like an action movie. The sound effects can be weak, though.

2.2

Play Value
This game is short and thoroughly uninspiring.

2.5

Overall Rating - Average
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

All in glorious 3-D. The creatures and backgrounds come to life in all their horrifying glory, providing the amazing dimensionality previously found only in movie theaters.

3-D glasses included! Four pairs of 3-D glasses are included for the whole gang to enjoy!

Six action-packed scenes! Each level is movie-themed and puts you in the heat of battle. Defeat large alien space cruisers in Cosmic Combat, join the resistance against the machines and destroy the machine mainframe in Robot Rebellion, and more!

Four-player multiplayer! The game features arcade-style multiplayer gameplay for up to four players. Players can cooperate to get past challenges while still competing for the highest score.

Blast everything with exotic weapons! In each level, three ultimate weapons are provided to use against the enemies of that genre. You'll have access to the quintessential zombie-slaying shotgun in the horror level while using the automatic laser cannon in the science fiction level, and much more!

Never the same experience twice! Fight through different enemy set-ups, see unique areas, and take on various environmental challenges depending on your choices and performance. With branching paths and constantly changing enemy attack patterns, you'll feel like you're playing each level for the first time -- every time!