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The Adventures of Tintin

Had I played The Adventures of Tintin when I was eight years old, I most likely would’ve deemed it the greatest game ever made. This is a game aimed squarely at kids who’ve already fallen in love with the world of Tintin through the movie/comic books/TV series or any other medium it has already conquered, and it does an admirable job of capturing the old-fashioned adventuring spirit that has kept Tintin relevant for over 80 years — even if it might have a hard time appealing to anyone over the age of 12 or those who don’t have a nostalgic soft spot for the series.
   
Despite being a tie-in based on the movie currently in theatres, the plot of the game bears only a passing resemblance to its film counterpart. Instead, a bunch of elements from the comic book — along with some original ideas — have been mashed together to create a disjointed story which barely makes any sense, even to those already familiar with the original Secret of the Unicorn comic. This is where the usual rushed and lazy feel of movie tie-in games is felt the most; it’s clear that there was little actual communication between the makers of the film and the makers of the game.
   
Still, the lack of narrative coherence isn’t a problem that ruins the experience. You play a Tintin game because you want to be Tintin and the game succeeds in that regard, letting you play as the intrepid, red-headed Belgian reporter in fun, 2-D side-scrolling levels which do a satisfying job of recreating the feel of the old comics. It’s all very simple — lots of platform hopping, some cartoony fights with goons who get in your way, the occasional easy puzzle to solve — but it’s done well and remains fun even if it does get a bit repetitive. There are attempts at staving off the repetition with brief gameplay excursions between levels — biplane dogfights, motorcycle chases, pirate sword fights — but they’re more dull than fun and they just give you a better appreciation for the traditional 2-D levels.
   
Most successful of all the things the game attempts is the Tintin & Haddock mode — an almost separate experience from the rest of the game which gives you and a co-op partner a whole new group of side-scrolling levels to run through, each one full of hidden collectibles to find and money to earn which can then be used to purchase new characters and a wide array of alternate costumes for each one. It’s the game’s defining mode, so it’s a shame that it wasn’t expanded even more to be a main focus. There’s an addictive quality to scouring the levels with a friend, trying to discover all of the secrets hidden in them.
   
Ultimately, The Adventures of Tintin is too simple to appeal to those old enough to play a more mature adventure game such as Uncharted. It’s made for kids just getting into Tintin and, on those terms, it’s a success, delivering exactly the kind of fun, lighthearted adventuring you’d want from a game like this. Now, if only it had been released it when I was in elementary school...

Bits & Bytes
   
Sony has announced that all copies of Twisted Metal, the reboot of the classic car combat series due out for the PS3 on Feb. 14, will also come bundled with a download code for Twisted Metal Black, the sole instalment of the series released for the PS2.

Upcoming Releases
   
Jan. 10 — Gotham City Impostors (360, PS3).

   
Mel Stefaniuk is a writer who can tell the difference between Mario and Sonic.