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Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures
Developer(s)	Telltale Games
Publisher(s)	Telltale Games
Director(s)	Andy Hartzell Joe Pinney Sean Vanaman
Producer(s)	Franklin Alioto
Designer(s)	Joe Pinney Sean Vanaman Andy Hartzell
Programmer(s)	Andrew Langley Robert Oates
Artist(s)	Peter Tsaykel
Writer(s)	Andy Hartzell Joe Pinney Sean Vanaman
Composer(s)	Jared Emerson-Johnson
Series	Wallace and Gromit
Engine	Telltale Tool
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox 360 iOS (Episode 2 only)
Release	Episode 1 March 23, 2009 (PC) May 27, 2009 (X360) Episode 2 May 5, 2009 (PC) November 4, 2009 (X360) July 6, 2010 (iOS) Episode 3 June 15, 2009 (PC) November 4, 2009 (X360) Episode 4 July 30, 2009 (PC) November 4, 2009 (X360)
Genre(s)	Graphic adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures is an episodic graphic adventure game based around the characters of Wallace and Gromit created by Nick Park and Aardman Animations. The game was developed and published by Telltale Games. It consists of four episodes, which were released to Microsoft Windows from March 23 to July 30, 2009, and to Xbox 360 from May 27 to November 4, 2009.

Episodes are developed by Telltale Games in collaboration with Aardman Animations to develop the story, characters, and setting. Players control both Wallace and Gromit at times through the gameplay. Ben Whitehead, Aardman's official backup voice actor, portrays Wallace, instead of Peter Sallis, who had voiced the character in all screen appearances up to that point. A playable demo of the first episode was made available in March 2009, and can be downloaded from the official site as well as Yahoo Games. It is also included on the Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray releases of A Matter of Loaf and Death as DVD-ROM content. Telltale Games removed the game from sale in January 2014 due to the expiration of their distribution rights for the Wallace & Gromit intellectual property; customers who previously purchased the game were still able to download the episodes from their game library.

The game was relisted in December 2020 on Steam, GOG.com, RobotCache and Green Man Gaming for Windows, along with Telltale's other titles Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People and Texas Hold'em.

Synopsis

Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees

Wallace and Gromit have opened a new business, "From Bee to You" specialising in delivering freshly made honey to customers. They take up the offer to provide fifty gallons of honey as repair payment to fix local grocer Mr Paneer's shop after Wallace's new prototype robotic cheese-detecting mouse accidentally rampaged through the store on a test run. However, Wallace has used up all the flowers in his garden, and is forced to improvise a growth formula to turn some daisy seeds provided by his neighbour, Ms. Flitt into giant flowers. The formula is a success, and he meets his client's demand but things soon go wrong when the bees react to the growth formula, becoming huge and terrorizing the town and Wallace's home. Gromit is able to trap most of the bees, but Wallace is stolen away by the giant bee queen. Gromit gives chase in Wallace's honey tanker truck, and is able to rescue Wallace. The two work together to feed the queen more honey dosed with more of the growth formula, forcing the bee to become stuck in a tunnel. Wallace works out an antidote to the growth formula to restore the bees to normal, though he accidentally shrinks himself in the process.

Episode 2: The Last Resort

Wallace prepares to take Gromit to Blackpool, but the weather both spoils their plans and creates a small flood in the cellar. The flood eventually gives Wallace the idea of temporary converting their cellar into an indoor holiday resort. He and Gromit do it up, scavenging the necessary supplies from town, and he then decides to open it for the rest of the townsfolk. The guests aren't happy at first, due to Ms. Flitt's two puppies, Pudgie-Woo and Tinkie-Wee causing havoc or due to being bullied by Flitt's "boyfriend", Duncan McBiscuit. Wallace manages to satisfy everyone before dinner time and avoids having to give refunds.

At the table during dinner time, the day appears to be a big success until Duncan is almost murdered by only one of the other guests during a blackout. Whilst Wallace attempts unsuccessfully to use his new crime-solving machine, Gromit eventually deduces from evidence and testimony from everyone including a hurt Duncan that Pudgie-Woo and Tinkie-Wee attacked him after he bullied them. When Wallace, Gromit, Pudgie-Woo and Tinkie-Wee fall in the pool, the cellar drain becomes dislodged and the puppies' favourite chew toy goes down the drain. Wallace watches the disheartened Pudgie-Woo and Tinkie-Wee jump down the drain after their toy, with Gromit making it back to shore before Wallace wishes all the appalled guests that they had a good time before their departure. Pudgie-Woo and Tinkie-Wee eventually re-emerge from the drainage system, ending up in the cells at the police station. Despite the mess made, Gromit finally enjoys the resort in private.

That night, a whistling man with a mustache posts a flyer for a charity fair through the door to 62 West Wallaby Street.

Episode 3: Muzzled!

Shortly after the holiday season, a charity fair comes into town, run by Monty Muzzle, to raise money for a new dog shelter, the old one being destroyed in the storm last episode. After dealing with three strays in their home, Wallace and Gromit go to the fair with Wallace's new invention, an ice-cream van that can create any flavour of ice cream. At the fair, Gromit discovers that Mr. Muzzle is actually attempting to steal away the townspeople's donations and using the strays as manual labor for the fair. When Wallace and Gromit uncover Mr. Muzzle's intentions, he escapes on a makeshift balloon, but Wallace and Gromit give chase, denying Mr. Muzzle of his ill-gotten money while saving all the strays. Ms. Flitt, who dumped Duncan McBiscuit earlier in the episode and has grown to admire the "bravery" of Wallace (unaware that it was actually Gromit that stopped Muzzle), mistakes his confusion at finding a loose fastening nut as an engagement ring and a marriage proposal from him.

Episode 4: The Bogey Man

Wallace and Gromit start a new business called Golden Retrieval which aims to find lost objects and Major Crum hires them. In order to defuse Ms. Flitt's mistake in accepting what she had mistaken as a marriage proposal from Wallace, Gromit manages to make him a member of the local country club, Prickly Thicket, which Ms. Flitt's aunt Prudence loathes and soundly rejects her niece's marriage to Wallace. Ernest Dibbins, the local constable, jealous that Wallace was admitted over him, partly due to the closure of Mr Paneer's shop for public health violations, uses an obscure bylaw to threaten the club with closure since it does not have a golf course–or rather it does, but members do not know where it is because the deed is missing, safely held in a security system designed by Wallace's (apparent) ancestor, Goodman Witless (and his faithful dog Gimlet). Using his detective equipment, Wallace manages to find the deed which Major Crum hired him to do, but discovers that the entire town was built on the golf course, and a vengeful Duncan decides to have the town destroyed in order to rebuild the course. Wallace challenges Duncan to a golf tournament so that he may become chairman and tear up the deed, saving the town, and manages to win with Gromit's help. However, as he goes to tear the deed, the security system traps him and the other townsfolk in a room, and Gromit is forced to disable the trap and free everyone. Wallace tears up the deed, and is thankful to find that Ms. Flitt has cancelled their engagement and gone back to Duncan, who her aunt almost now approves of since he is no longer the club chairman. With a newly opened vacancy, Mr Paneer agrees to nominate Constable Dibbins for membership of the club as part of a quid pro quo for the reopening of his shop.

Reception

Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees

Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 78% and 76/100 and the Xbox 360 version 75% and 73/100.

Episode 2: The Last Resort

Episode 2: The Last Resort received moderately positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 74% and 72/100 and the Xbox 360 version 72% and 73/100.

Episode 3: Muzzled!

Episode 3: Muzzled! received positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 77% and 75/100 and the Xbox 360 version 75% and 72/100.

Episode 4: The Bogey Man

Episode 4: The Bogey Man received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 74% and 72/100 and the Xbox 360 version 74% and 72/100.

References

1. O'Conner, Alice (October 29, 2009). "Wallace & Gromit's Grand XBLA Adventures Dated". Shacknews. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
2. Padilla, Raymond (February 4, 2009). "'Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures' Coming To PC And Xbox 360 Spring 2009". G4TV. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
3. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures FAQ". Telltale Games. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
4. "Wallace Unavailable". The International House of Mojo. February 14, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
5. G-Doc (January 13, 2014). "Weekend Promo: Adventures NOW!". GOG.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
6. "Why is Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures no longer available?". Telltale Games. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
7. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
8. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
9. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
10. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
11. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 2: The Last Resort Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
12. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 2: The Last Resort Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
13. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 2: The Last Resort Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
14. ^ "Wallace & Gromit Episode 2: The Last Resort Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
15. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 3: Muzzled! Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
16. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 3: Muzzled! Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
17. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 3: Muzzled! Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
18. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 3: Muzzled! Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
19. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 4: The Bogey Man Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
20. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 4: The Bogey Man Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
21. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 4: The Bogey Man Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
22. ^ "Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, Episode 4: The Bogey Man Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 7, 2013.

External links

• Official website

• 2009 video games
• Episodic video games
• Focus Entertainment games
• IOS games
• Point-and-click adventure games
• Single-player video games
• Telltale Games games
• Video games about insects
• Video games developed in the United States
• Video games scored by Jared Emerson-Johnson
• Wallace and Gromit video games
• Windows games
• Xbox 360 games
• Xbox 360 Live Arcade games
• Video games set in Lancashire