Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension Review
Kid Safe: Very High (9.5 / 10) Game Quality: Very High 8.5 / 10)
Genre: Action/Adventure
- This
game is identified by its action-based tone of gameplay that focuses on
one or more characters being faced with a challenge and going on an
adventure to solve it through puzzle solving, avoiding obstacles, and
battling enemies with multiple forms of weapons and attacks.
Internet Requirements: None
- Phineas
& Ferb, to the best of the reviewer's knowledge, does not feature
any kind of internet-based service. It does not feature any online
multiplayer, "score keeping"/leaderboard, or downloadable content
services.
Story Summary: Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension is a direct pick-up after the film, Phineas
& Ferb: The 2nd Dimension.
The title is meant to be a tie in and picks up with the characters of
the Phineas & Ferb television show; including Phineas, Ferb, Agent
P, Dr. D, and many more...plus an exclusive character "Agent T", a
turtle-type character. From there, players will lead the team through a
diverse set of "other dimensions" as they work to defeat the Evil Dr.
Doofenshimirtz and his legion of robot minions.
Kid Safe: Very High (9.5 / 10)
- Foul Language: None
o While
I'm sure that the chatters and mutters that the Platypus Perry make are
something horrible in the Platypus language, to the best of the
reviewer's knowledge , Phineas & Ferb does not contain any kind of
foul language.
- Violence and Gore: Very Low
o Phineas
& Ferb features a very low amount of violence with no gore
what-so-ever. Using a wide range of inventive and unrecognized weaponry,
players will fight a variety of enemies including a number of different
robots, farm animals, and gelatinous beings. These weapons include the
Carbonator, a weapon that shoots a spray of orange soda, the Baseball
Launcher that, as the name implies, shoots baseballs at the enemy, the
Anti-Gravity Gun, that can pick up and hurl enemies at each other, and
more. Enemies, when attacked and defeated, will often fall apart or
simply disappear within a ball of smoke.
- Sexually-Related Content: None
o To
the best of the reviewer's knowledge, Phineas & Ferb does not
contain any kind of sexually related content, reference, or nudity.
- Use of Drugs and Alcohol: None
o To the best of the reviewer's knowledge, Phineas & Ferb does not contain any kind of drug, cigarette, or alcohol usage.
Game Quality: Very High (8.5 / 10)
- Graphics / Visuals: High
o Despite
what you might have presumed, Phineas & Ferb actually delivers in
the graphics and visuals. For anyone that is familiar with the cartoon,
you may suffer a couple of annoyances, however these are far and few
between. The developers did an excellent job in moving a 2-Dimensional
cartoon into a 3-Dimension video-game representation, allowing players
to move around accurate representations of all their favorite characters
from the Phineas & Ferb cartoon show. Generally, the game feels
very much like you are controlling the cartoon and the only real dilemma
comes during cutscenes when characters are talking and interacting
without your control. Sadly, these scenes offer some slightly broken
details and fuzzy visuals, making it regrettable that the developers
didn't decide to simply animate these scenes versus using the computer
animations.
o On
the contrary, the level and "dimension" design are absolutely superb.
While playing through the levels, I never once felt like something had
been forgotten or "left out"; the developers generally considered
everything about the overarching world. It's not often that you or your
child get a chance to explore a world that has been overrun by
gelatinous monsters, made up entirely of balloons, or converted into a
1950's era cartoon. Each level and dimension felt as real as the next
and I must commend the developers for the thought that was put into
them.
- Audio: High
o For
Phineas & Ferb, I both can and can't claim that the audio is "top
notch" like I do many other games for one sole reason: the game utilizes
its original voice actors. While this is all well and good, you don't
need to be a fan of the game's original show to really appreciate their
work. The actors really help in just about every aspect of this title.
Not only do they assist in playability by helping players know what they
should and should not do, they also constantly keep the dialogue
running and witty and up-tone beat as well as adding their own
commentary here and there. There was more than once that the game's
simple puns and childish humor had me laughing right along with them,
reminding me much of a Looney Toons cartoons that uses humor that
appeals to all rather than something that "only kids will get".
o Secondly,
the music in this game is simple and well-done, but not used enough.
Most levels tend to be either silent or music tends to be re-used from
prior situations, really negating from the overall enjoyment.
Nonetheless, those pieces that are present here and there deserve praise
for their simplistic yet enjoyable beats.
- Gameplay / Playability: Very High
o Much
like the show that the game stems from, Phineas & Ferb and features
an INCREDIBLY high amount of both gameplay and playability. Starting
off, as always, with playability. This game does EVERYTHING it can to
adhere to just about every player. Any veteran player that is familiar
with most action/adventure games won't even have to blink an eye; they
know almost instantly both how to handle the character and use the
majority of the moves and attacks. However, for those players that don't
know how to play the game or how to play games in general, Phineas
& Ferb helps them along every step. Not to mention that this game
will generally display almost any button that a player needs to push in
order to use an item, Phineas & Ferb also highlights any section
that players need to interact with and, should a gamer take too long,
will prompt them with an auditory/subtitle cue to inform them of what or
how they need to act to continue through the level.
o As
for gameplay, I have to say that I was blown away. I expected the
simple, yet solid gameplay that featured players running around fighting
a wide-variety of cartoony enemies. What I didn't expect was the sheer
depth of it all; making it akin to other games of a much higher caliber.
As players fight their way through Dr. Doofenshimirtz's legions of
monsters and robots, their weapons will actually level up; progressively
becoming more powerful. As these weapons become more powerful, players
will be able to work on them at a "workbench": literally opening them up
and improving things like their damage output, rate of fire, available
ammunition, and even sound effects and colors. These factors are all
reminiscent of very famous and very adult games like Mass Effect or
Borderlands.
o Not
even counting weapons or fighting, the game also caters to its audience
by constantly breaking up gameplay and offering more than one might
expect. While the game generally keeps a linear path, following the
Phineas & Ferb group as they explore through dimensions and battle
Dr. Doofenshimirtz, it will always have something to do for those
players that might not have the longest attention span. Every level is
broken up by little mini-games like "Perry-Ball" (also known as
Skee-Ball) and the Claw Machine that allow players to use special
gold-tokens that they found throughout the levels, win prizes, collect
tickets, and even buy a variety of special items like extra playable
characters, exclusive sounds and colors for their weaponry, and even
trophies and statues that the players can admire when they aren't
fighting the Doofenshimirtz Legions.
o Finally,
if all of this isn't enough, players will be able to unlock and play a
wide variety of different characters that all have their own
specializations and favored weapons. Utilizing these characters will
provide very different gameplay experiences as each one will handle a
little bit differently and, without a doubt, your little gamer will
prefer one over the other.
- Dollar-Value: High
o Overall,
Phineas & Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension actually has a pretty high
dollar-value. While it does not have anything to offer in the way of
additional content or multiplayer, the gameplay itself is very
enjoyable; especially for younger gamers that are just getting into
gaming. The game will offer the majority of players somewhere between 8
to 11 hours of gameplay; which is on par with the majority of
adult-titles that are released to date. Even then, if you have a
PlayStation 3 console, you will also be able to enjoy 4 episodes of the
Phineas & Ferb cartoon show right off of the game-disc. I will admit
that I had never seen Phineas & Ferb and I loved it. All in all,
especially if your child is a fan of Phineas & Ferb, this is a solid
choice.
Recommendations
- As a highly child-friendly title, we do not have any other recommendations.
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