	Flushed Away
	Developer: Monkey Bar Games Publisher: D3 Publishing Europe Ltd. Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
As my last wave of reviews has shown, I’ve played a lot of film tie-ins and I’m generally not huge fans of them - a few notable exceptions aside. They’re usually shallow, rushed affairs with very little tie to the film at all. When it comes to kids’ films, the standards expected are usually lower (kids want a shallow game), but accordingly the developers make far less effort too. Flushed Away falls smack in the middle of these categories: a not-bad game for a not-bad film (although Dreamworks might disagree for various reasons that I won't go into here). The game follows the film characters Roddy, the posh aristo-rat literally flushed into the sewers and Rita, the street-smart cockney sewer rat and captain of the ship “Jammy Dodger”. You join forces to beat the ever-so posh but definitely nasty Toad, and all manner of hilarity ensues. Well, I wouldn’t go that far but the banter between the two main characters isn’t bad for a game and the kids will definitely chuckle. If that doesn’t work the chat from the Italian spiders and cockney slugs definitely will! You’ll spend your time jumping about collecting scrap, slashing sewer nasties and all kinds of platforming stuff we’ve seen before. The controls are pretty simple, as is the combat, but not to the point of tedium - the levels are designed quirkily enough to keep things interesting. All of the puzzles and obstacles will definitely appeal to the kids (as this is obviously the target audience) and nothing in the level design is too taxing, apart from quite a few death drops and rats can’t swim… There are also a few sections where you get to man the helm of the Jammy Dodger, which handles well enough until you need to brake (square is weapon swap instead of brake for some reason) and you’ll slam into the wall trying to slow down. The boat also handles pretty terribly when you’re going around corners, reversing or slowing down/speeding up. That means it’s only really useful in a straight line. The weapons are quite fun though, as they’re all fashioned from reclaimed items such as Alka-Seltzer tablets and fire extinguishers. You also get a few on-rails bits manning the rear gun which I generally can’t stand, but at least it’s quite easy so didn’t frustrate me as much as the ones in Call of Duty! The environments have to be the game’s best point - they really do feel very sewer-y. Everything scattered around the levels (apart from the fairy lights) could easily have been flushed down the loo or down a storm drain and the levels have a Micro Machines feel about them. When you’ve completed your missions you’re taken back to the main ‘city’, Little Soho (it is London’s sewers, after all). All the characters have a kid’s movie cockney charm and there’s even a Chinatown too! As I said earlier most of the puzzles are fairly simple and if you can’t find something a huge spotlight will appear over it so you don’t end up walking around for ages, but there are a few annoying points which can slow the game down completely. Sometimes in the game, despite all the help you’re normally given, you’ll end up stuck looking at a ledge you just can’t get to, or a piece of a cog you can’t find, no matter how hard you try. A couple of times it’ll be because I’m trying to think too much into the problem and the solution is so simple you don’t think about it but at other times it’s just a case of trial and error until you find the completely obscure solution. Granted you’ve got unlimited lives but it’s just a pain when the rest of the game is so simple. Flushed Away is a fairly enjoyable game, even for adults. The gameplay isn’t very taxing and can easily be played with a hangover. As it’s for kids you don’t really want more than that. The graphics are passable but the game keeps everything up to speed and loads in-game most of the time, which is a bonus. The jokes and setting will be the main selling point for the game and I’m sure the kids, especially the younger ones, would find it fun. Like a film starring Jason Statham, don’t expect too much from this and you’ll enjoy it.

Best Bits
- Nice environments
- Good comedy banter
- Easy to play

Worst Bits
- Graphics aren't great
- Some frustrating puzzles
- Boss battles!
- Will be too easy for older kids


by: Crazypunk