Bee Movie Game review

Bee Movie Game starts off in the hive (New Hive City), which is like a yellow-heavy miniature version of Grand Theft Auto. As Barry B. Benson, players can hover around (but not fly), take and drive any car in sight, and embark on jobs (minigames), such as catching falling honeycombs, driving a taxi, or racing cars.

But leaving the beehive for story missions offers mixed results, as there's no core, fleshed-out gameplay element that defines the experience. Between pollinating flowers, shooting down dragonflies, distracting humans, dodging cars or animals and navigating through stormy weather, there's no consistency to the gameplay, presentation, or quality of the missions. Despite high notes (avoiding rain drops in slow motion and dodging traffic), a hyper-reliance on timed button presses and a series of painful human interactions drain much of the fun from the experience.

Presentational issues appear across the board in all of the console versions, especially when transitioning between the in-game footage and CG clips that bookend the missions. While a bit structurally bland, the Xbox 360 iteration benefits from sharp textures and a shininess that seems right at home inside the hive. Though its visuals can't compare to the CG concocted for the film, Bee Movie Game does an admirable job of maintaining the atmosphere of the source material, including the occasional chuckle-inducing zinger.