This has been a wild summer movie season, with so many Triple-A titles being released. Like all good things, summer must come to an end - but not before a few more titles get released. One of the last movies being released is The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. As with almost all summer movies, a game with the same name has been released for the Nintendo Wii.

The story for this game follows the same plot of the movie. The father and son duo, Rick and Alex O’Connell, try to stop an ancient evil from taking over the world. Players will take on the role of both characters as the game switches between the two at different points in the story. This makes the game monotonous since there is no real difference between them (other than the character models). It would have been a nice option for the characters to have some distinction and have the ability to switch between the two characters at will, but alas, that feature is not present.

The gameplay for this game is sorely lacking and almost broken. Players will be doing one of three things throughout the entire game. The first is completing various platforming challenges. This is in itself a challenge because many times this becomes a game of trial and error. There is almost never a discernable path to take. Another problem is that the game is severely linear, with no real way to branch out or find new ways to accomplish the particular objective. This could have been forgiven, but players will also be under constant attack by ancient booby traps. There are bat attacks, saws, and many others traps (Chinese engineers are to be applauded for making booby traps that will last for thousands of years and still work) that will cause players to start over from the beginning. It is a frustrating way to keep us occupied and an all-around anticipation-crusher.

The next major gameplay segment is the myriads of puzzles that gamers will have to solve. The main problem with the puzzles is that they are incredibly simple. Most of the time it is pick up the shiny object across the hall, and other times it requires some simple gestures, which the game tells you the ones to do. This is the only time motion controls are used in this game.  It’s a good thing too because the motion is not very accurate. Again this will cause the frustration levels to rise even higher--when optimism is almost destroyed.

The last major part of this game is the combat. Throughout the course of the game, players will be constantly attacked by mindless drones throwing knifes, shooting guns, or going for the old fashioned one-on-one fist fight. Thankfully there are plenty of weapons to choose from to take the enemies out, including shotguns, pistols, and even machineguns. The main problem is that the computer AI is not very intelligent so there is no variety in the way the enemy attacks the player. It is all very repetitive. To compound matters the targeting is not great.  So many times players will be trying to attack a target but can never lock on that particular enemy. They will only be able to take them out after annihilating other enemies in the room. This completes the frustration level, and players will have many “throw the controller at the TV” moments while fighting the enemy.

The graphics for this game are decent but they are nothing to get excited over. The developers did a good job of replicating each actor’s likeness in this game. Another thing that players will like is the game’s use of lighting effects. This helps make the game “pop out” during certain moments. The texture work for this game is redundant, but it is overall palatable. The biggest annoyance players will have with the graphics is the poor animations.  These look odd and out of place.

One of the more positive things about this game is that the developers were able to use the same music that was in the movie. Using the same orchestra goes a long way in making this game a lot more fun and “authentic” to play. Another feature that fans of the movie will like is that the actors reprised their roles and lent their voices to their on-screen counterparts. The voice actors are really good. The only problem with this is the developers didn’t give them enough lines - especially while they are in combat. Players will get extremely sick of hearing the same handful of lines over and over again throughout the course of the game.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is rated Teen.

Gameplay: 3.1
Everything in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is half-baked. The controls are sloppy, which makes combat and the platforming elements a chore to even attempt. The motion controls are a joke and make the game more painful to play. The lack of camera control also hurts this game.

Graphics: 5.1
Overall the graphics are decent, and it helps that the developers got the actors' likenesses in the game. There is nice texture work as well as lighting effects, but the Nintendo Wii is capable of much more than this game has to offer.

Sound: 7.1
Players will be happy to learn that the actors from the movie reprised their role for the game.

Difficulty: Medium
This game is frustrating due to sloppy controls and poor platforming segments.

Concept: 2.3
The only concept players will wish for is a bug-free and playable game.

Overall: 3.8
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a game that is obviously rushed to be released the same day as the movie. While the game has a decent foundation it is lacking the polish that would have made this game at least fun. Avoid this game at all costs.