Go on... Ruffle some Feathers!
Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo is a 3D platformer released in 2003 by Frontier Developments for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox and PC, which saw the return of Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers as the main villain in an original storyline.Tropes that apply to this game:
- Awesome, but Impractical: The Turnip Launcher is one of Gromit's strongest weapons, being able to destroy gates and deal high damage, though it's balanced out by it's pitifully low ammo count.
- Big Bad: Feathers McGraw makes his return to the series by enslaving animals to help him power the Diamond-O-Matic.
- Bonus Feature Failure: Most of the unlockable rewards are video previews and short clips from various shorts from previous Wallace and Gromit entries. While it may've had value at the time, you could easily cut your losses and simply buy the Complete Collection and Curse of the Were Rabbit on DVD if you want to watch the shorts and the bonus ones respectively instead of going through tough bonus levels to unlock short clips. And if you have the PC version you can simply access all these unlockable clips already on the CD since they are simple WMV files.
- Bonus Level: In every world, there are one or two hidden areas that will grant you a coin or a bonus clip upon completion. You will need to master Gromit's skills if you intend to complete them all.
- Boss Battle: There are several bosses for you to fight in most of the game's worlds, with only The Jungle House, The Temple and The Warehouse being devoid of any boss fights whatsoever.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Important tools needed to help Wallace fix things are coloured orange and have a loud sparkling sound when you approach them. Hint Paws are coloured gold to indicate that they give hints for each area.
- Darker and Edgier: Considering that Feathers McGraw is the main villain, this is no surprise. Instead of hatching an elaborate plot to steal a diamond, his current plan involves kidnapping various baby animals for ransom to force their parents to work for him.
- Double Jump: When Gromit has the Springy Boots, it makes him heavier but also allows him to double jump. Using them is key to defeating the first boss.
- Family-Friendly Firearms: Gromit wields all sorts of firearms in this game from a banana gun, a porridge firing gatling gun and even a turnip launcher.
- Final Boss: Feather's Exoskeletron is a giant robot penguin that starts off with 2 legs and after taking enough damage, replaces them with a single wheel. It also reuses the regular boss theme and therefore lacks Battle Theme Music of it's own.
- Gatling Good: The Porridge Gun is one of these, being useful for jamming up machines and taking out groups of enemies, and also boasting the highest ammo count out of all of Gromit's weapons.
- Hostage Situation: To ensure that the animals in West Wallaby Zoo will power the Diamond-O-Matic, Feathers McGraw has been putting their offspring in cages throughout the various areas in the game.
- Humongous Mecha: Feathers McGraw pilots one during the final boss fight. Despite losing its legs during it's second phase, it's no less weaker than before.
- Lethal Lava Land: World 3 (Volcano) takes place in a volcanic area deep underground. For what it's worth, falling into lava won't kill you instantly, though landing in it is still a bad idea.
- Mecha-Mooks: All of Feather's Toybots are various robotic animals that require Gromit to exploit their weaknesses to defeat.
- Non-Action Guy: Wallace's role in the game is to fix various machines for you to progress and occasionally give you new weapons. All of the actual fighting will be left to you.
- Nothing Is Scarier: The game's instruction manual has this to say about the Diamond-O-Matic, the game's final level:Level Description: The ultimate level, an enclosure so scary, the less said about it the better, we don't want to put you off.Babies to rescue: ...It's up to you to find out.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: The Pedallo can only take one hit before sinking, with the game's manual describing it as "particularly rickety".
- Platform Hell: The final level has this due to various sections being built around the player overcoming precise platforming in a game that clearly wasn't designed for precise platforming in mind.
- Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: The game's cover depicts Gromit carrying either the Banana Gun or the Porridge Gun depending on the version while Wallace panics.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: World 6 (Ice House) takes place in a cold enclosure where you have to rescue polar bears. Unlike the previous level, it's far more spacious and open world, allowing the game's mechanics to really shine.
- Stealth-Based Mission: World 5 (Warehouse) has brief sections where you have to avoid zookeepers to get past them in order to obtain an item. Despite stealth being mentioned as a main feature in the game's instruction manual, this is actually downplayed in-game simply because stealth is only used for one section and the rest of the level doesn't require use of stealth whatsoever.
- Trap-Door Fail: Feathers McGraw activates a trap door beneath Wallace and Gromit while trying to escape. However, it jams before it can open more than an inch.Wallace: Heh-heh! You should leave the inventing to us professionals. [starts stamping on the door] Your trapdoor is stuck ti— [trapdoor opens completely] —iiiiiight!
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: A few levels such as the Volcano or the Ice House require the player to use the Gyrocopter or the Pedallo to shoot down enemies. The bosses in World 3 and World 5 require you to use the associated vehicles to shoot them down instead of fighting them on foot like you do with every other boss in the game.
- The Very Definitely Final Dungeon: The Diamond-O-Matic is the last level, which requires precise platforming and overcoming various puzzles in order to rescue Archie from the clutches of Feathers McGraw.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: If you're getting annoyed at Wallace ordering you around or just want to kick him up the butt for the sake of it, the game will allow you to do so with no consequences attached other than Wallace telling you to knock it off.
