Game Review: The Ant Bully
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this action game based on
the
movie of the same name has lots of fighting, but the
violence is cartoonish. Players will smash, shoot, and bomb
various insects, other small animals, and -- in one case -- a
human as they battle to protect an ant colony. Although players
dispatch scores of spiders, pillbugs, and the like, the game's
story traces the growing empathy the human protagonist feels
for the ants as he learns to walk a few yards in their, er,
shoes.
Families can talk about the game's messages on the importance of accepting others and learning to work as a team. Are movies and games effective in teaching messages like this? Families may also wish to discuss the violence in the game. Why do you think the ants were good guys but other insects were bad?
Common Sense Media Review
THE ANT BULLY is a decent movie-to-game adaptation, although
it still succumbs to some pitfalls that plague games in this
category. The game is action-packed but somewhat short and
occasionally sloppy and repetitive. Fans of the movie may enjoy
playing as a favorite hero, but many families might want to try
a rental first.
The story of the game follows the movie pretty closely. Players control Lucas Nickle, a young boy known to the ants that live in his yard as The Destroyer for the abuse he has subjected the colony to. When the ants shrink Lucas down to their size, he must make amends by learning the ways of the colony and protecting the ants from danger.
Lucas mainly protects the ants with a staff that he uses to bash insects and other pint-sized pests. As Lucas earns the respect of the colony, they assist him by creating guns and bombs that help him on his missions. Over more than a dozen missions, the action plays out as a typical third-person fighting game that's occasionally broken up with special tasks like a race or manning gun turrets.
Although the action can get intense, the violence is never very graphic. The spiders, mosquitoes, and earwigs Lucas battles disappear in a puff when they're vanquished. And despite the violence, Lucas's fights have a purpose: He eventually learns to respect the ants as he becomes a team player. He even manages to unite the ants and some of their insect foes in order to tackle a common enemy: the exterminator.
A lot of the fun in Ant Bully comes from navigating the world from an ant's point of view. Bookcases become mountain ranges, and broken shards of glass in the yard turn sun rays into burning laser beams. As players explore this surreal world, they gain ant powers like crawling up walls or using telepathy to call members of the colony to help build bridges.
Yet the missions in Ant Bully aren't very challenging, and most players will scurry through them in around five to six hours. The length can be extended a bit if players try to acquire all the collectables scattered around the game world, but the game offers little incentive for replay.
Ant Bully also suffers from an occasionally weak presentation. Some plot points are alluded to but never explained. The game camera can be unwieldy. And the action can even continue while players are stuck watching a cut scene, even as Lucas takes damage.
Altogether, then, Ant Bully provides a mixed experience. The game's unusual setting and action are enough to provide a few hours of diverting gaming, but the experience won't hold many surprises for most players. For better games based on movies, check out our top picks.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
