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The Smurfs
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Graphics & Sound:
The Smurfs’ in-game graphics are properly cartoony, matching the feel of the television show quite well. The cartoon cut-scenes themselves are good too, with the same 'quality' we remember from Saturday morning. One problem I had with the graphics, however, is that the end-level graphics seem to cycle through the same few animations of your Smurf busting another one out of a cell in a jet-black room. Eh? I want setting! I also had a major problem with the voice acting. It could be that I'm American, and the voice actors are British, but they sound absolutely nothing like any of the Smurfs I remember from TV. I was hoping at least to hear some close renditions, but I'm very unused to hearing a Smurf talk with an English accent. Eep. And when you break the Smurfs out of the cells, the giggling voices sound like they're coming from five-year-olds. Incongruous, at best. The in-game effects sounds are all right -- I especially like the various noises the yellow goblins make -- but they're mediocre at best.
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Gameplay:
Unfortunately, The Smurfs sticks itself in a very bad place. There are two game modes -- one in which you supposedly learn how to play the game, but mainly just wander around and interact with the environment and Baby Smurf, and one that's a traditional platform game. The first is trivially easy, even for kids, and won't hold their attention for long. The second is considerably more difficult. At times, it's too difficult. My nephew, who's been playing games at my house since he was three (and is now seven), couldn't beat the first level without having me give him hints. Eh? I, on the other hand, tore through most of the game in a matter of minutes. This game misses both target audiences, it seems. Kids nowadays will find it too difficult (by the way, does The Smurfs even on the air anymore?), and people like me who grew up with the show will find it too easy. It doesn't help that the play control isn't as tight as it should be. The Smurfs is a 2.5D platformer, a la Tomba! and the Pandemonium series, but you don't have the spot-on control that you need for a game such as this. Your Smurf switches from moving left to right too slowly to manage good control. The levels themselves are quite varied, from a snowstorm to an underground pit of lava, but they're typical platformer fare. The Baby Smurf side-game is all the annoying parts of a Tamagotchi -- feeding, playing, etc. without the good parts -- punishing. Blah.
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Difficulty:
As stated before, the easy level is trivial for kids and adults, and the more difficult level is too easy for me and too hard for my nephew. Eep.
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Game Mechanics:
The controls are quite soupy, and definitely take some getting used to. The hit detection could use some work as well -- multiple times I got hit by bees that didn't look like they were anywhere near me. There are tons of loading screens, more than any game I recall from recent history, and it really starts to get annoying after a few levels, but it's nothing that you can't overlook. It's a shame, really, that The Smurfs misses on both the old fogeys that watched the show growing up, and the kids that could watch it now. It's a decent platformer, but definitely try it before you buy it. The Smurfs’ charm just isn't all there.
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-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications AKA Phil Bordelon |
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