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.

Rise of the Guardians Game Review

Let your imagination soar in Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game as you play as one of the classic childhood legends, including: North (aka Santa Claus), Tooth (aka the Tooth Fairy), Bunnymund (aka the Easter Bunny), Sandman, and Jack Frost. In this action-packed adventure game, each Guardian has their own set of extraordinary abilities that will help you take on the evil spirit “Pitch” and his infectious nightmares. Along the way, you’ll unlock new powers and spellbinding special moves that will increase your character’s strength and skills throughout the game, plus you can unleash cool team attacks with your fellow heroes. With drop-in-and-out multiplayer action supporting up to four players on consoles, you and your team of Guardians will work together to protect the hopes, beliefs and imaginations of children all over the world!

FEATURES

• Join Forces with Your Favorite Characters From the Film – Play as one of the classic childhood legends from DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming feature film, Rise of the Guardians, including: North, Tooth, Bunnymund, Sandman, and Jack Frost.
• Battle Pitch in an Epic Adventure – Take on Pitch and his evil nightmares in a deep and intuitive adventure combat game that includes new original enemies designed specifically for each Guardian’s realm.
• Unique Abilities and Upgrades – Unlock power-ups such as weapon upgrades for your character. Plus, earn unique new abilities including special combat moves like a snowball attack, summoning a swarm of miniature tooth fairies, and more!
• Explore Legendary Guardian Realms – Experience the imaginative worlds from Rise of the Guardians, including; Tooth’s Palace, North’s Workshop, Bunnymund’s Warren, and many more.
• Team up in Multiplayer – Swap between any of the characters in drop-in-and-out four-player squad based multiplayer action on consoles.

We were sent a copy of the game that is out today, to try out.  The whole premise of the Rise of the Guardians really appeals to my eldest children.  The idea that these childhood figures are not quite as cute and fluffy as we would believe is a stroke of genius.  They are in fact a kickass crew prepared to battle to protect children throughout the world as long as they still believe.

The game, which is a tie-in of the Dreamworks film, features an elaborate environment to explore where you take on the enemy using special powers.  Swarms of nightmare creatures attack in waves. The fights are quite fast and furious as the legends unleash their powers to keep the nightmares away.  It is visually stunning and the characters are very much like their film counterparts.  The video cut-ins progress the story line and add to the enjoyment of the game.  The ability to switch between characters and the drop in multiplayer option adds variety for some fun sessions and adds to the replay value.

The game play is often seen from above and Kizzy, 10, sometimes lost her character in the melee that was going on, but other than that she managed the controls well.  The attack moves are easy to administer It's a good looking game that has made me really want to watch the film!  I love the edgy characters and the dark interpretation of the childhood legends.  Younger players will be able to handle this game and have fun with the familar cast. More accomplished players, who enjoy a good action/adventure game, will like it too.

Rise of the Guardians is available to purchase now from good stockists for the DS, 3DS, Wii, PS3, XBox 360 and Wii-U.  The XBox 360 game is £29.87 at Amazon.  It is a PEGI 12.

Everyone Sing Review

We love a good sing-a-long in our house.  So games that feature music always become firm favourites.  My girls enjoy grabbing the mics and singing their hearts out together, which is something that I really enjoy witnessing!

Their latest game is Everyone Sing on the XBox which we've been sent to try out.  Compatible with up to four microphones, it allows up to four players to sing together in this first multi-format singing game.  Every single one of the thirty-five hit songs in Everyone Sing has multiplayer options, which means that the more confident singers can sing as the “lead” and less confident singers can be their backing singers. Each song has a version for 2, 3 and 4 players, so you can adapt how you will sing it and no-one will be left out. With multiple party modes including Pass the Bomb, Group Mode, Know Your Song and more, you can truly have the perfect party night in with your friends and family. 

Featuring 35 hit tracks including:

• Nicki Minaj - Your Love
• The Wanted - All Time Low
• Nicole Scherzinger - Poison
• Jessie J - Nobody’s Perfect
• Michael Bublé - Haven’t Met You Yet
• The Noisettes - Don’t Upset the Rhythm
• Dusty Springfield - I Only Want to Be With You
• Taio Cruz - Come on Girl
• CeCe Peniston - Finally
• Rizzle Kicks - Down With the Trumpets
• The Saturdays - Ego
• Gina G - Ooh Ahh… Just a Little Bit
• Pussycat Dolls – Don’t Cha
• Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart
• A-Ha – Take on Me
• Girls Alound - The Promise
• Marina & the Diamonds - Hollywood
• Example - Kickstarts
• Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)
• Boyzone - Picture of You
• Kate Nash - Do-Wah-Doo
• Black Kids - I’m Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance

The selection of songs on the game are quite diverse with some golden oldies alongside some modern hits.  The kids really love the selection, most of which include the song's video to sing along to.  The scoring system is accurate with your notes recorded on screen.  The system for picking who is playing and what part they are singing was a bit complicated at first (as we didn't have any instruction booklet with the test disc) but  the girls worked out what to do and played away happily together, taking turns as the lead singer.  Once a song is completed you get a percentage score which lead to some healthy competition between the girls.

This game is a PEGI 12 due to some of the song lyrics being explicit (what do you expect from Nicki Minaj!)  But I had no problem with Kizzy playing it and didn't hear anything particularly inappropriate.

Everyone Sing is avaialble now from game stockists such as Amazon and Play for the Wii, XBox 360 and PS3.