“This was reviewed with a retail copy”
The Smurfs 2 is the game based on the newly released film of the same name. It is developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Ubisoft. It was released on the 31st of July for the Ps3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii and the 3DS.
The game starts off with Smurfette being kidnapped by the evil Gargamel and his new creations, the Naughties. At first you take control of Papa Smurf, Gutsy Smurf and Clumsy Smurf and you have to travel the world chasing the Naughties and Smurfette. Along the way you also unlock more Smurfs to help you fight against Gargamel. The game doesn’t follow the film exactly, but enough to be associated with it so there’s no chance of it spoiling the film for you.
This is a 4 player side-scrolling platformer game, so you can play the game with your family or friends. It has offline co-op only so you will need 3 extra controllers for the 4 player mode. Although the game is mainly directed towards children, the more mature gamer might enjoy the game if you are fan of The Smurfs. The controls are very basic and you will only press the same 4 buttons throughout the game which will get boring, but it’s not a very long game to finish so that doesn’t matter too much. Even after getting 100%, it only took me seven and a half hours to finish it. There isn’t a difficulty option and the game is very easy, even for children.
To navigate the stages there’s a home hub where you see all the unlocked Smurfs. There are 6 stages, each consisting of 5 levels. On the final level of the stage is the boss which you defeat allowing you to unlock a playable Smurf. Each stage has hidden collectibles which you need the Smurfs you previously unlocked to get, so you you will need to go back and try and get them all, if you’re the completionist type. Once you finish the game there really is no reason to go back and play it again.
As you expect from a licenced game, the graphics aren’t going to amaze anyone but they get the job done. The level design is the best part of the game which is built on a 2D plane with 3D levels. The levels consist of forests, cities and more. You can see the 3D aspects of the game when leaves flow across the screen in the city level. The original voice actors don’t lend their voices to the game but the talent involved do sound like them so it’s not a huge deal.
All in all though The Smurfs 2 isn’t as bad as some of the other games that have released this year. Sure it’s a licensed game and sure it could have been better, but you will enjoy playing it with your family and I’m sure your kids will love it. I wouldn’t recommend buying it, but renting it instead.