Recipe for a Summer Movie Tie-In Game.

Begin with a huge star, preferably anthropomorphic.
Gather locations from the film, ancillary characters, recognizable story moments, and a happy ending.
Mix generously with puzzles and heartwarming cut-scenes.
Serve hot and fresh when the film opens.

THQ's WALL-E DS follows the Summer Movie Tie-In Game recipe perfectly. Drawing its inspiration from the newest entry into the Pixar canon, WALL-E follows the puzzle-solving adventures of the last robot on Earth.

As in the film, WALL-E has lived a solitary life on the planet for seven centuries and has become a bit peculiar. In the film, his primary function is to clean up the mess left by humanity. In the game, his primary function is to solve puzzles.

Each level of the game presents you with an elevated playing field with frequent sharp drop-offs. Drive WALL-E carelessly and he’ll tumble over a ledge and lose a life. Not to worry, there are plenty more where those came from. The designers were generous with second ... third ... and fourth ... fifth ... and even sixth chances.

Progressing through the levels involves solving puzzles. Using garbage from convenient garbage dispensers, WALL-E can fashion cubes which he can throw to activate switches which change the playing field by opening doors or extending bridges. The garbage comes in different colors which perform different functions. Gray garbage is just for throwing. Red garbage makes explosive cubes which can be used to clear away enemies or to propel WALL-E across chasms. Gold garbage makes magnetic cubes which ... well, they do exactly the same thing as the explosive cubes, but in the other direction. Once aboard the spaceship Axiom, blue garbage creates EMP cubes which can temporarily disable robots, including WALL-E if you're careless.

Typical of games of this sort, once you get past the tutorial levels you'll find the same kinds of puzzles over and over and over. The tutorials themselves are to be commended for doing a good job of getting players into the game easily. Young players who can read will pick up the game mechanics quickly. The puzzles involve stacking up actions in the right order and occasionally rely on getting the timing just right. For example, some switches activate temporary bridges and a ticking countdown timer adds an element of beat-the-clock to the game as the player races to complete the next required action.

To provide variety in the levels, you'll be confronted by an assortment of enemies. These take the form of sandstorms and sand/electrical storms (on Earth) and other robots (once WALL-E makes it to the starship Axiom). For the most part you can simply dodge these annoyances, but if necessary you can use the cubes to dispatch them.

Somewhat frustratingly, save points are tied to the game levels and only appear on every third or fourth screen. If you lose all of your lives on the final screen, you'll have to replay the earlier screens to win a chance to try again. This, coupled with the single save slot, can make WALL-E an exercise in frustration. Fortunately, most of the puzzles are straightforward enough that you'll rarely find yourself stuck.

Once in a great while, the game lets you play as EVE, WALL-E's new friend. These levels are simple races in which EVE must avoid obstacles and make it to the end of the course before a timer runs down.

You can keep your stylus tucked away while playing WALL-E DS, all of the action is controlled by the buttons. The D-pad moves WALL-E forward and back, the shoulder buttons turn the point of view, and the A, B, X, Y allow you to manipulate the cubes. During game play, the play field is rendered in 3D on the upper screen while the lower screen shows a top-down schematic view of the same area. The art style is simplistic, but engaging and makes good use of the DS's 3D capabilities.

In the end, WALL-E DS serves up a decent video game snack. It hits all the right notes for fans of the film, is easy enough for younger players (with only minor frustration related to the infrequent save points), and is diverting if not engaging.