Flushed Away (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

While Flushed Away seems like just another CGI movie it does have its roots elsewhere and if you enjoyed last years 'Curse of the Ware-Rabbit' you'll probably also recognize Aardman Animations, the people behind it. This Bristol based animation studio are known for their stop motion (claymation) feature films but they opted for the CGI route here because of the sheer amount of water involved, which you can imagine must be difficult to replicate using models. It's also the first time an Aardman film has appeared on the DS although older gamers may remember Chicken Run on the GameBoy Color. The film itself has already been a hit Stateside and is likely to do the same here but what's the game like?

Gameplay

Flushed Away is essentially a traditional 2D platformer with 3D visuals with only the layout of levels separating it from the standard fare. This is because unlike most games of this genre, which simply go from one level to another, Flushed Away bridges out to two or three different paths, although while this should be challenging it's more often frustrating because of the lack of objective and direction. This can mean a great deal of backtracking and it's where the first problems with the games structure become apparent. You see, most enemies can't be killed but only stunned for a matter of seconds and while you can restart the level even if you happen to lose all your health, you will also lose most of money (quid) you have collected. It's difficult to explain just how irritating this is but given that this is aimed at the younger gamer it's likely that they will abandon the gamer rather than go around in circles with each section being 'reset' once they visit it again. Interspersed with this is your faithful ship, the Jammy Dodger, and it's here you must fend off all manner of floating debris and henchmen armed only with a single, and slow loading cannon.

In addition to the main game there also some mini-games which, once played in the main game, become available from the main menu. They start with our two heroes locked in the freezer with the objective being to loosen all the locking cylinders before time is up and, of course, both Roddy and Rita are frozen. Next is the rather incongruous Sewer Cup, which is a quick reaction game. Simply shout into the microphone when you wish to attempt a goal kick. Score three goals and you are a winner. Finally there is the Refuse Rush, which challenges you to escape the sewers in the Jammy Dodger. It's not that these are particularly bad mini-games they just feel a little misplaced and out of context. Given the blandness of the main game however the package could do with a few more.

Controls

As you'd expect this is all pretty standard stuff for a platformer and the initial levels are tutorials for both Roddy and Rita anyway. The only real difference between your main characters is a single ability so Roddy can headbutt large objects and Rita has the use of a grappling hook although this isn't as useful as you'd expect. Everything else is explained throughout the game with text on the bottom screen so there's little need to keep referring to the manual.

Graphics

Visually the game is very pleasing (in some parts at least) with the animation of the two main characters very good indeed. The same cannot be said of the environments, which are generally bland and incredibly repetitive although I suspect that may be what drains actually look like. There are some exceptions to the rule and the China Town segments at least show some imagination on the designer's part. It's all wrapped up with a generous amount of static screens lifted from the movie although while these are of excellent quality they don't always appear to match what's going on in the story.

Sound

The soundtracks that accompany each level are nothing special with the odd one sounding suspiciously like a high school garage band. The sound effects are a little better and there's even some voice over work from the film although not nearly as much as we'd have liked.

Dual screen

Very little use indeed with only the mini games using both the stylus and microphone. You'll occasionally be prompted to use the touch screen in order to talk to one of the cities inhabitants but, to be honest, it's much easier using the 'A' button to select them.

Final comments

You would imagine with two main characters that Flushed Away would be an ideal platform for some type of multiplayer co-operative mode, but sadly it's missing and this is just one of a handful of missed opportunities which stop this from becoming a good rather than average game. The game structure itself is the biggest problem with lots of collecting and exploration but little in between and even less incentive to complete your current mission. The mini-games, which generally help matters are also poorly designed and offer little replay value. If you did enjoy the movie then there's enough here to please younger gamers and while it's not the worst movie tie-in we've seen recently, it's not the best either.

Pro: Nice Visuals and Animation.
Con: Bland Gameplay, No Multiplayer, Too Short.
Final score: 6.3

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