Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

There really isn't any point in us trying to disguise how excited we are about the imminent release of the new Wallace and Gromit film. We've tried to ignore as much of the hype as we could in the run up to the release of the new Aardman Animations masterpiece, and we're hoping that the marrow-thieving Were-Rabbit is as worthy an adversary as the sinister 'chicken', Feathers McGraw. We're bursting with admiration for the creator Nick Park, whose outwardly mild demeanour must conceal an inner cookie of diamond-like toughness, having spent the last five years diligently crafting his claymation feature, while ignoring the chivvyings and feature-change demands of that most apposite of creatures, the Hollywood producer.

Any big film release, especially one with such well-loved characters, is accompanied inevitably by a videogame release these days, and we're pleased about two things - namely that the developer Frontier Developments worked in close partnership with the people at Aardman, and that the game is published by the trustworthy Konami. The game allows you to play as Wallace, Gromit, or their new friend Hutch, the rabbit, as you set about solving the mystery that has plagues the vegetable patches of their Yorkshire hometown of West Wallaby. Armed with the 'Bungun' - a device which can suck up any object of appropriate size and shoot it out - and numerous other loopy devices, you must hunt down and neutralise the Were-Rabbit, every proud gardener's worst nightmare.

The action takes place across four large, free roaming areas, ranging from the suburbs where Wallace and his faithful, silent hound live, to the seafront where there are amusements and funfair rides. The look of the game really does conjure up the same fond feelings as the work of Nick Park does, and two players can join in the fun with the Oscar-winning pair.