Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's developers managed to capture the look and feel of Tim Burton's vision throughout the game, especially where the cinematics are concerned. The voiceover work is truly top notch, in many cases nearly indistinguishable from the movie's actual cast, many of whom did lend their voices to the game. The in-game graphics are quite impressive as well, offering decent textures and a color pallet that perfectly coincides with the zany look of the newly released film. Especially impressive are the character animations, which in many cases manage to dazzle with accuracy. The look of the game captures just the right elements to provide the player with a pretty accurate sense of what it must be like to truly travel though the bizarre world of Willy Wonka.

The player assumes the role of young Charlie Bucket, an average little boy from a poor family who gets a helpful push from the hand of fate. The onset of the game hints of a carefree romp through Charlie's snow-covered town in an effort to track down a $10 bill that the wind happens to be carrying and depositing elusively around every nook and cranny. Successfully following the cash on a wild goose chase results in a very enjoyable downhill sledding level (atop a garbage can lid) that leads directly to the ever clichéd purchase of the chocolate bar containing the final Golden Ticket - the pass which allows for exploration of the Chocolate Factory.

Once inside the Factory, things take a turn for the worse as the grand scale of the adventure (as well as earlier hints of an enjoyable romp) are immediately shattered once the surprisingly cute Oompa-Loompas make their first appearance. Each direction of the D-pad allows Charlie to assign tasks to the loyal little Oompas, many of which are simple visual continuations of the objective at hand, required to move the story along. As a result, much of your time spent in the Factory will consist of trying to solve unimaginative puzzles in the form of factory staff management rather than genuine exploration.

Charlie's weapon selection consists entirely of candy products from his endless supply of Everlasting Gobstoppers (basically spheres that can be thrown at targets), to the jump-enhancing Candy Balloons, to the fishing pole inspired Wriggle-Sweets (just to mention a few).

The control layout is fairly intuitive, although the camera is quite an annoyance, getting stuck directly behind Charlie on occasion and locking up in corners.

The mechanics of the game aren't difficult; in fact there aren't even really any enemies to dispatch. However, this isn't to say the game is not frustratingly difficult. The difficulty in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stems from mission objectives that are rather bizarre (example: locate air billows and assign 1 of your Oompa-Loompas to jump on them while blocking vents with robots covered in beanstalk plants in effort to build pressure in the factory's pipes) and game dynamics based on managing a crew of helpful servants while trying to figure out exactly what is you are supposed to be doing.

Unfortunately, the gameplay aspects of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are where the game begins to come apart at the seams. Although the game's environments are rich and intriguing, a majority of the player's interaction within consists of simple task assignment to the Oompa-Loompas scattered throughout the levels and mundane object collecting that often triggers the next game objective with little in the way of logic. Despite available hints with a push of the R2 button, very rarely is the current objective clearly spelled out for the player, forcing most game progression to occur either by total accident or by many hours of backtracking combined with trial and error tactics. In fact, the pause screen offers the disturbing option to restart the level, only further reinforcing the notion that once too far off track, the only way to progress is to go back to the beginning.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory continually introduces concepts and game elements that look absolutely wonderful on paper but fall flat once experienced in action. Children (for whom the game most likely intends to cater to) will find the plot interesting but the in-game action far too mundane and tedious to devote to and gamers of all age groups will grow immediately tired of endless puzzle solving.

The Chocolate Factory setting and Willy Wonka's almost frighteningly innocent demeanor add up to the potential for a wonderful video game adventure of exploration, platforming, and magical abilities but, unfortunately, the finished product forsakes such elements in favor of difficult puzzle solving and emphasis on task distribution. If you want to explore the Chocolate Factory, see the film or read the book; Purchase this game only if you long to experience managing the Chocolate Factory.