G-Force (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Disney has always embraced the talking animal, its big-eared figurehead is a charming and chatty mouse, but you have to admit, that when you first saw that trailer for G-Force it all felt a bit wrong. In case you don't get to the cinema much, Disney's latest summer blockbuster is an action adventure, backed by none other than Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Guinea Pigs. That's right, we did say Guinea Pigs, and as if to push the concept just that little bit further, they also happen to be secret agents. The movie's been a runaway success and, as usual with Disney, there's a game. But will it be doomed by the movie tie-in curse?

Gameplay

G-Force is an action platforming romp where you take control of Darwin, one of an elite squad of Guinea Pigs. This involves you infiltrating a large components factory where everything is clearly not as it should be. You'll quickly discover that a number of everyday objects have mutated and now want to attack you. Well, why wouldn't they? Your first problem is your size, as office desks and kitchen tops tower above you. Fortunately you're equipped with (amongst other things) a tiny jet-pack, which allows you to reach greater heights, although only for a couple of seconds. This is the main premise of the game: getting from one impossible area to another whilst also disposing of (or avoiding) the various toasters, water coolers and shavers that are now out to get you. There is help at hand as you can hack, and then take over, some of the larger devices (see the touch-screen section) and to get into those smaller sections you have Mooch. Who on earth is Mooch? Well, he's a house fly and, although like your jet-pack he's only useful for a short period, this is generally enough time for you to throw a switch or scan a key code.

The levels are huge but due to the linear design it's difficult to get lost but if you do manage to lose your way then the bottom screen lists your current objective and your special goggles can be used to discover just which direction you should be heading in. This level of help stops the game from becoming frustrating and while it's relatively simple for your average gamer, the film's demographic is likely to find it a bit tougher. There is a Multiplayer and loads of unlockables, but the game's design means you are unlikely to still be playing after the school holidays, it's just fortunate the initial play through is so satisfying.

Controls

The controls are very intuitive indeed, with everything just where you'd expect, and Darwin's range of moves are very impressive. There's also a handy tutorial bolted onto the front end. Our only real gripe is the lack of camera control which prevents you looking up, which is even more irritating when you consider that the character you are playing is only around 6 inches tall.

Graphics

Developers Keen Games have managed to pull off a mighty impressive 3D engine here with a suitable amount of detail considering it's running on the DS. As you might expect from a Disney title, the animation is very well done. The main character of Darwin moves around the various levels very differently depending on the surface he's currently on. Best of all, for fans of the movie, there's a generous amount of FVM clips all of which can be viewed from the main menu.

Sound

The audio is excellent and the soundtrack and sound effects do much to enhance the gameplay. Sadly though, there's absolutely no voice acting, which does seem a bit of a shame given how much emphasis is placed on the voice talent in an animated movie. Instead, you get text (and lots of it) but really, will we read it or skip it?

Dual screen

Hacking just about any computer or device requires you to solve a simple slide puzzle/circuit where you'll need to use the stylus. This is simply a case of matching the top screen to the layout of the bottom screen and joining all the remaining circuits up. This should have been an enjoyable and much needed escape from the platforming action but once you've done a handful of these they do tend to become a little pointless and tiresome.

Final comments

It's not often we have any level of praise for a movie tie-in but G-Force did catch us a little off guard. On the surface, there's absolutely nothing special here. It's not very original and the game design is a somewhat linear with little replay value. Dig a little deeper though and you'll discover an incredibly enjoyable and great looking little game, even for the DS. The result is a game that actually does the movie justice even if we still don't know where the guinea pigs get their weapons. Answers on a postcard please!

Pro: Solid Action Platformer, Looks Great
Con: Constant Text Can Be Irritating, Tedious Touch-Screens Games
Final score: 7.5

Share on Twitter or Facebook

Comments