Flushed Away Preview
By: Andrew Hayward |
Thursday October 12, 2006 |
| An animated adaptation that does not embarass? Flushed Away may be it. |
| Flushed Away is the first computer-animated film from Aardman Studios, best known for their stop-motion animated films Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Developed in conjunction with Dreamworks Animation (Shrek), Flushed Away details the plight of Roddy, a pet rat flushed down the toilet into the London sewers. Below the world he loved is a community formed by other strays, including Rita, a beautiful thief. Roddy and Rita ultimately team up to return Roddy to his former home, all the while cracking wise with likely-hysterical British humor.
Naturally, a videogame adaptation is in the works, but it is not from one of the usual suspects. Instead, D3Publisher of America is publishing Flushed Away for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Monkey Bar Games has been tasked with the development of the console versions, though their only previous experience is with the largely unloved Curious George and Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet. D3Publisher of America sent over a preview copy of the PlayStation 2 version, and I had a chance to try out a number of the levels and get a sense of where the game is headed. Flushed Away claims to have three playable characters, but it's really two characters and a boat; but what it does feature is three distinct styles of play. When playing as Roddy, the game plays out like a common action/platform title, complete with a double-jump, two attacks, and the ability to evade enemy attacks. The enemies I faced were devoid of challenge, so the evasion tactics seemed largely inconsequential. The real challenge of the game lies in navigating the well-designed levels, as a dip in the water spells instant death for the rodent. Luckily, generous checkpoints keep the frustration at bay. Roddy's levels remind me in some ways of God of War, though certainly not in the head-smashing kind of way. Rather, the interaction with the levels seems to draw inspiration from the modern classic. Metal grating covers many of the walls, and you occasionally must jump from wall to wall, which is aided by the active camera. Other times, Roddy must open a door or move an object, and is prompted to input button commands. Roddy is armed with a toothpick as a weapon, but it can also be used as a helicopter to traverse larger gaps or spin upwards, should you pop the appropriate floating balloon while jumping. Playing as Rita uses a similar third-person platforming perspective, but her levels place more emphasis on stealth and the use of a grappling hook. In the level I played, Rita found herself in the bedroom of an oft-awakening enemy, and had to tip-toe to the exit. Upon exiting the room, I then had to use my grappling hook to enter another room, then pull statues from a distance to activate switches. After escaping the room and grappling around a bit, Rita then had to slide atop poles, much like in Daxter for the PSP. Though Rita and Roddy have similar-looking levels, the play styles are varied enough to make each feel different and interesting. The Jammy Dodger is the name of Rita's boat, and the levels that make use of it were the ones I expected to be the most exciting of the bunch. Sadly, the level I played showed the ship to be quite slow and generally unexciting. Non-threatening enemies appear as you traverse the sewers, and the Jammy Dodger can fire off Roman Candles and other projectiles to dispel the foes. Ultimately, the goal is to get from point A to point B, and it may be a bit of a dull ride. The ability to customize your ride may shake things up a bit, but I am personally hoping that Flushed Away puts a greater focus on the Roddy/Rita levels. Flushed Away retains the look of the computer-animated film, though the PlayStation 2 cannot replicate the exact look. While the characters were impressively rendered, the environments and the backgrounds were not particularly exciting. It may be nothing special, but it is par for the course for film-inspired games on the system. Cut-scenes are rendered using the in-game engine, and are complete with voice-overs. I could not tell if the actors from the film were used, but the lines were admirably delivered. I do have to wonder how quickly the one-liners from defeated enemies will get on your nerves. Rather quickly, I would guess. Though I was not able to play them in the preview copy, the final version of Flushed Away will feature three mini-games, such as Rat Traps & Crayons and Pathfinder. Rat Traps & Crayons can also be played with a second player, though the main adventure is strictly a solo affair. With more than ten levels and a variety of play modes, Flushed Away looks to be better than your average animated adaptation. It may not show up on your radar in a month populated by Final Fantasy and Splinter Cell, but it should be a solid pick-up for platform fans and a strong recommendation for those who enjoy the film. |
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