Reviewed: February 2, 2007
Reviewed by: Justin Nixon
Publisher
Atari
Developer
Etranges Libellules
Released: January 9, 2007
Genre: Action
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone
8
9
7
8
8.3
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
There has been a blast of computer-animated movies hitting the market within the last six to seven years. Most of these movies have gained huge success not only in theatres but also in DVDs and even merchandise sales. Most of these movies offer something for not only children but also for adults. The visuals alone in some of these movies are astonishing.
Following most of these movie releases are videogames of the same name. Most aren’t that good but most usually offer the same level of visuals as the movie, which is reason enough to play them. If the movie looks amazing, most assume that the game will look just as good, if not better.
The gameplay in these games is typically pretty shallow. Sometimes it’s just flat-out horrible. Despite that fact, these games still are great sellers especially among children. Year after year developers continue to create these games. Sometimes it appears that they don’t even care at all about the quality of the games given the fact that they will sell no matter what.
Arthur and the Invisibles breezed through the theatres without any success. This didn’t stop Etranges Libellules from producing a game about it. Most of the time, the games are not as successful as the movies of the same name. It would be hard for this game to be less successful given the lack of attention that the movie received. Given the quality of Arthur and the Invisibles: The Game for the PS2 it should surpass the success of the movie of the same name without any problem.
The game follows right along with the movie. You are given the story through a short video that comes straight from the movie. You play as a young boy named Arthur. His grandmother is about to lose her house because she doesn’t have enough money to make the payments. Arthur’s grandfather has been missing for many years. Apparently he went looking for some mysterious treasure, and has not returned.
It is your goal as Arthur to go looking for not only the treasure but also your grandfather in hopes of saving your grandmother’s house. Of course, in order to do this you must become a Minimoy. A minimoy is some kind of tiny creature that resembles a fairy but with no wings. They are a bit smaller than an average mosquito. With the help of a few minimoy friends you must find the treasure and your grandfather. Along the way you must also help the minimoys fight their enemies.
Along the way you can switch between the three adventurers in your party whenever you want. Most quests will require you to use each member at least once. This is because each member has their own unique abilities. Arthur can climb and smash through spider webs. One of the other members, Selenia, carries a knife and can slice through different obstacles. Last, but not least, is Betameche, who is small troll-like minimoy that can fit through small places and has a projectile-based weapon that can be upgraded throughout the game.
To make it through the games many puzzles you must use each member’s ability too. The puzzles found throughout the game are not impossible but may require some thinking. Most require the abilities of all three members. This assures that you spend an equal amount of time with all three which mixes up the action just enough. The only problem is that some of the puzzles can take a while and unfortunately slow down the action quite a bit. For the most part though, the action keeps on rolling without a hitch.
Each member controls just like they look. Betameche can’t jump very high, and when you play with him you truly get a feeling of being troll-like. Selenia is graceful with every move, and Arthur is able to jump the highest and could possibly be the fastest of the three. Each member feels different.
Is this game truly a PS2 title? At times you can’t tell. It looks that good! The character models are a little above average, but the environments are a true spectacle to behold. The villages look amazing and the grass looks like real grass at times. The overall lighting in the game is five-star quality too. When you walk into an outside area of the game, the lighting coming through the blades of grass is truly magnificent. It is some of the best use of lighting in a PS2 title. Overall, this is one of the best-looking PS2 games that I have ever laid my eyes on.
The game is full of quirky music that seems to work well with the game. The game is full of voice-overs too. Each character found in the game has a voice. The voice-overs are done by the actors from the movie and are quite good.
When you smash rocks it sounds like smashing rocks, only maybe a little overdone. All in all the sound effects sound good except for maybe a few occasions of overdoing it like the rocks.
If you aren’t afraid to dish out $30 for a movie-licensed game then go get this one. The graphics are amazing and the gameplay will keep you busy for a while. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, like most of the country, this game is very enjoyable. Just make sure that your TV’s picture quality is set right because you don’t want to miss out on these visuals.
After completing the DS version of Arthur and the Invisibles, I didn’t think that the PS2 version would even come close to giving me the same level of entertainment. The DS version was a very solid game but so is this. In fact, the PS2 version is even better than the DS version, as it should be.