The Smurfs 2's storyline closely follows that of the film with the nasty Gargamel up to no good once again. The scoundrel has a new creation he likes to refer to as the Naughties. The imposter Smurfs kidnap Smurfette on Gargamel's orders to "reunite their sister" to the family, and Papa Smurf, Clumsy, Vanity and the rest of the gang must set off to find and rescue Smurfette from Gargamel on an adventure that will take the crew from the friendly confines of the forest all the way to major real world cities such as Paris. Players receive the game's narrative through narrated cutscenes at the beginning of the game, before boss battles and other key moments during the game, and the game does a good job of providing a fun storyline for kids and adults to enjoy.
The Smurfs 2 features interesting platforming mechanics seen in other games to create a unique experience that is a lot of fun for the whole family. Berries are the key to staying alive in the game and are littered around stages for players to collect. Once the player falls in a pit or is damaged by an enemy, the berries are scattered and must be collected before they disappear, similar to how rings behave in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The action in the game is slower and more deliberate however and combines with four player cooperative action to feel much more like a clone of New Super Mario Bros.. There are also hidden coins to collect, bonus objectives to complete and other items to collect in each stage.
Once the first five stages of a world have been completed, a boss level is unlocked, and a new world is unlocked after surviving the major enemy encounter. Bosses also have a chance to unlock new characters for use in the game including Brainy and Smurfette, and each character comes with a unique ability that helps in combat or gaining access to out of reach items. Players can control up to four of the game's characters at any time, and each character packs a special ability that can be used in combat and to find secrets throughout stages. Some of the unique moves include Vanity's ability to freeze enemies and Gutsy's ability to break blocks with his fists, but characters can't be switched after a stage has been loaded, so players will need to choose the right characters for a specific task and possibly bring in multiple characters with friends to access the rarest items. As can be expected, The Smurfs 2 isn't a very difficult game, but finding all of the game's secrets together with others still makes it an entertaining experience.
The presentation of The Smurfs 2 is pretty well done too. The game's graphics aren't as superbly crafted as in the film, and the voice actors are different as well. While the game looks nice and controls fine, some of the characters' voices can quickly grow tiring, especially during heavy jumping sections of the game. The game itself is fairly short too, which makes the in-game collectibles all the more important for the longevity of the title. The Smurfs 2 other flaw is also that it will clearly not be a game for everyone; hardcore gamers will likely want to pass this one up, but families will be happy to pick up the fun new game for a discounted price. Fans of the little blue critters will want to run out and purchase a copy of The Smurfs 2 and team up to take out Gargemel and the Naughties today!
The Smurfs 2 is now available from all major retailers and can be purchased for $39.99 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U and $29.99 on Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. The Smurfs 2 is rated E by the ESRB for Comic Mischief & Mild Cartoon Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official The Smurfs 2 website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer: Wayforward
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (reviewed), Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Wii & Nintendo DS
Release Date: July 23, 2013
