Smurfs 2 on the PS3

The Smurfs 2 is an Action-Adventure Platformer game from Ubisoft that follows the thrilling story of the second movie of the Smurfs. Players will take control of their favorite true blue heroes to succeed on their quest to rescue Smurfette from the evil Gargamel, immersing themselves in enchanting and interactive environments along the way. The Smurfs have to use all their skills to save the day.

Key Features:

Experience the Smurfs adventure just like they do in the movie whilst playing through 6 different worlds: Smurf Village, New York City, Spooky Woods, Mountains, Tropics and Paris.

Defeat 6 different boss battles including Gargamel, Azrael and the Naughties.

Play cooperatively with up to 4 players with 9 different playable Smurfs (4 starters and 5 unlockables) with one special ability per character including Freeze Potion, Super Pose, Exploding Gifts, Super Jump and Magical Floating.

Collect over 20 different Smurfs while succeeding in the different levels and take them to your Smurf Village HUB.

We were sent a PS3 copy of Smurfs 2 for the purpose of this review. Smurfette has been Smurfnapped by Gargamel and his new creations, The Naughties.  The friendly forest animals have been turned evil and the Smurfs have to bravely venture out from the Smurf Village using magic portals!  This game has instant appeal and 4 year old Freddy was able to navigate his chosen Smurf through the early levels, collecting berries, finding coins, freeing animals and using the special abilities.  It starts relatively easily and as the characters don't die (they just lose their berries if they have them), youngsters can progress without becoming too frustrated.

There are mini challenges to complete on each level which keeps the game play fun.  You have to complete each stage with a certain number of berries or free a certain number of animals etc. which makes it fun to go in and replay the levels to complete the challenges.  Finding coins helps to unlock the new Smurf characters, each with their own skills.  Different Smurfs will be able to do certain parts of each level, so to complete the game fully, players will have to go in again with their new characters.  It makes the longevity of the game better and gives young players a chance to replay early levels and hone their skills for the higher levels.

The game looks great and the music and dialogue is fun and entertaining.  The characters are very true to their movie counterparts and Freddy enjoyed spotting Papa, Smurfette, Brains, Clumsy, Vanity and the other Smurfs that he recognised from the first movie.

I really liked the 2D style gameplay as the big epic 3D games are just too difficult for myself and Freddy to navigate. It is not a multi-player drop-in/out game which is a shame as it would have made it easier for us to support Freddy when necessary and leave him to play independently at other times.  But saying that it's nice to play a good old co-op game together.

We are all really enjoying this game.  So far it is simple, straightforward and not overly complicated making it great for all ages.  The cut scenes are very sweet, telling the story of the game. They comprise of static pictures with narration in a storytelling mode and Freddy really enjoys them!

Pro-gamers will undoubtedly be able to complete the game very quickly and may find the gameplay too simplistic, but for kids, smurf fans and people like me who just want some light-hearted gaming fun, Smurfs 2 is a nice movie tie-in.

It is available now at Amazon and currently retails for £23.  Also available on XBox 360, DS, Wii and Wii U.