Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd Dimension on the Wii. We *LOVE*.
Who doesn’t love Phineas and Ferb, huh? Definitely my favourite cartoon.
So I was more than a little bit happy when the Phineas & Ferb 2nd Dimension game landed on my mat for me to review.
Well, I say ‘me’.
Naturally I’ve not actually been anywhere near it (and not for want of trying). It was immediately STOLEN by the 8 and 10yr old’s – and played. A lot.
So, obviously, the review is down to them too, yes?
Fair’s fair, after all.
So – this is what Boy (10) says:
“You have to get Phineas and Ferb and Perry back to their own dimension after they jumped to a parallel world to defeat a weird actually-evil Doofenshmirtz. If you haven’t seen the film there’s clips that catch you up with what’s going on, and in between levels you get film clips too, which is cool.
You can choose to play as Phineas, Ferb or Agent P (or collect tokens to buy more characters), and switch between them as you go. There’s six worlds, with loads of levels in each (There are six different dimensions to visit, each subdivided into between two and six smaller levels, with a grand total of 24 stages to play). You can get gadget upgrades like a baseball launcher and an orange soda shooter, and it’s really great that the weapons level up as you go, and you can collect mod chips which make them even stronger. The game isn’t a straigtforward levels game though – there’s puzzles that make you think as well as boinking Doofenschmirtz’s robots with fizzy orange and baseballs.
If there IS a bad side, it’s that when you’ve completed the game – that’s it. There’s no extras you can go in and find, no more levels or characters to unlock, so once it’s finished it doesn’t immediately make you want to go and play it some more.”
For me, it’s a great game – we LOVE the cartoon, and thankfully the game matches the show for it’s nerdy wit and cleverly crafted charm. The fact that it is a co-op game is perfect – no arguments over who’s turn it is, and the essential team work skills come out.
Even thought it is basically countless platforms to jump, enemies to eliminate and simple puzzles to solve along the way, the variety of the style and view of play ensures that it is doesn’t get samey during play. I love the puzzle solving – they usually involve raising and lowering platforms to reach new areas or redirecting lasers to activate switches (moving mirrors to redirect lasers; they have no clue that’s physics they’re learning!). Meanwhile, putting together inventions means finding two-to-four glowing items in the general area, and then combining them to make something that allows further progression, such as a catapult or a battery for a broken down vehicle.
Whether you are swimming through floating globes of water, fighting on a high speed mine cart, or sliding down a rainbow, the game stays true to the humour and whimsy that makes the show so appealing. Overall, Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is a wonderfully executed children’s game. If your children love the show, the game is a winner. The co-op mode is great, importantly there is no penalty for dying, and the bright and colorful worlds look fantastic. The full voice cast is present, and the writing is as intelligent and witty as the programme.
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension is currently available for under £10 at Amazon – definitely one for the Christmas holidays.
