Review: Dreamworks Megamind Ultimate Showdown (PS3)

6 Jan, 2011

Title: Dreamworks Megamind: Ultimate Showdown
Platform: PS3 (also available on X360)
Developer: THQ
Publisher: THQ
TWOLS (Ten Word or Less Summary): Flawed, short and simple but perfect for kids nonetheless!
Family Friendly?: Click here to skip the detail and see if this game is right for your family!

It’s safe to say that on the whole? On the whole, games based upon movies (er, and movies based upon games, actually) quite rightly get a pretty bad press. Often generic and stale with sub-par mechanics, it’s difficult to find a movie game cash-in that hits all the right buttons, and harder still to find one that can properly satisfy both adult and child gamers alike.

On the surface, THQ’s Megamind appears to deliver. One of three separate Megamind video games pedaled on the back of the successful animated movie, Ultimate Showdown picks up where the original movie left off. Rather than simply regurgitate the original plot from the film, the game instead details the now reformed Megamind’s quest around Metrocity – wait, I mean Metro City – to collate parts of his broken inventions in preparation for his battle with the evil, city-destroying Doom Syndicate. Cue menacing music …

Ultimate Showdown is bright and beautiful – the high def graphics really are incredible – with interesting environments and the full cast of characters you’d expect to see (albeit it disappointingly without the original voice actors from the film). Thanks to a simple and intuitive control scheme, players – particularly younger ones – can pick up a controller and jump straight into the story, progressing quickly and confidently through this simple, uncomplicated platformer. The environments are easy to navigate as you wander through the city, collecting B.I.N.K.E.Ys and stray pieces of Megamind’s DNA machine whilst occasionally running into – and conquering – a bad guy or two.

The battles sequences are perfect; neither too long nor too short, too many nor too few, the gorgeous graphics and amusing (if slightly aggravating) sound effects are enough to keep adults and children entertained. Whilst there’s nothing particularly new or exciting about the gameplay, it’s varied enough to engage kids thanks to an array of battles, puzzles, collecting and upgrading through this platform-hopping world.

The problem, however, is that the game’s faults overpower what should have been a really enjoyable game. With frustratingly unresponsive cameras, awkward angles and several game-breaking glitches (at one point, Megamind refused to jump over to a building that we’d cleared previously, resulting in us having to reboot the game and lose unsaved progress), at times the gameplay was more irritating than enjoyable.

The oversimplified puzzles were at best repetitive and at worst simply insulting. Even given the target audience, not even very young players would struggle to solve a puzzle than involved dragging a box from one corner of the screen to the other. Backtracking to swap weapons or items grew tiresome from the very first chapter, and whilst the battles with the enemies were certainly entertaining, the faulty camera angles often impeded progress, particularly where Megamind was required to perform timed jumps.

Bosses are laughably simple. Even reviewed as a family game geared for kids, there’s no hiding the fact that this is a painfully simple game, an issue confounded further by the fact that there’s no option to ramp up (or down) the difficulty to better suit the player’s experience. Only once did my son die in a boss battle, and that was simply because he’d gone into the arena with very little life – hardly much of a challenge.

But most disappointing of all is the title’s lackluster co-op mode. Whilst a second player can jump in at any time and control Minion, there’s actually very little point in doing so. With no split-screen function at all, Minion often melts into the background thanks to a flawed camera that refuses to acknowledge a second player. Frequently the second player disappears entirely from view, inconveniently spawning someplace new just to accommodate player one’s perspective. It’s mind-numbingly frustrating and essentially renders the co-op functionality entirely useless.

Despite my lambasting of Megamind‘s poor mechanics, there’s no denying that when it comes to grabbing the pre-teen market, THQ have undoubtedly succeeded. As you’ll read in our Family Focus summary, my son thoroughly enjoyed it and still plays through regularly, despite having already completing it twice. Praise indeed for a game I’d prefer not to play again!

Good times!

• Easy and instinctive, this is a perfect title for kids
• Story is short and concise; great time-killer
• Easiest platinum trophy I’ve ever secured!

Bad times :(

• Ridiculously simple and painfully short
• Camera angles and imprecise mechanics can be surprisingly frustrating
• Two player campaign is pointless – the game essentially ignores second player

Family Focus

Parental Perspective: Vikki is the mother of a seven-year-old who spends much of her life juggling home, work, parenthood and a love of gaming – although not always in that order. She loves survival horror games, puerile humour and men dressed up like doctors and is constantly searching for the perfect family game that she and her son can play together and both completely enjoy.

Megamind is the perfect title for a no-brains-no-arguments family afternoon of gaming. With its simple premise, easy navigation and simplistic puzzles, Megamind empowers the younger gamer and enables them to confidently take the lead. The high-def graphics were stunning and mesmerising, and although the sound effects are, on occasion, a little grating (the ‘pew-pew-pew!’ of Megamind’s laser still haunts me at night), I know that they – and the game’s generally witty dialogue – amused my son.

Things to watch out for: whilst there is some cartoon violence and the use of stylised weapons, with no sexual undertones, bad language or unsuitable violence, Megamind is a great family game. It’s just a shame that the co-op mode is so badly flawed.

Kid Kritique: Sammy is the aforementioned seven-year-old with a burgeoning love of video games, particularly sports and kinetic (although not necessarily Kinect) games and titles based on his favourite costume-wearing superheroes. He loves SpongeBob, Doctor Who and Tottenham Hotspur Football Team.

Although Sam has had some help typing and formatting his contribution, the words and thoughts below are entirely his own and have been transcribed without interference.

I love this game! It is really really fun. The story is brilliant and it really made me want to watch the film. I played this with my friend and with my mum, and I had loads of fun playing with both of them. It was pretty easy to play and I didn’t need any help with killing the enemies or the bosses.

I liked the Boss fights. I sometimes find it hard to kill the big baddies in games, but in this game I figured it out all on my own and killed lots of them without dying at all. Mum said that it is too easy but I think it is just right for kids like me.

One bad part is the two player bit. If you are Megamind then it’s okay, but if you are Minion then it is really hard and really stupid. The camera only follows Megamind so even if you are playing two players, if you are Minion you disappear and can’t see where you are or how to get back.

I think this is a BRILLIANT kids game and a great one to play with your mum or dad. You should definitely check it out!