The Adventures of Tintin Review

Spielberg’s and Jackson’s adventure movie “The Adventures of Tintin” receives a reasonably high 75% Rotten Tomatoes rating while performing impressively at the box office. And just like most other blockbuster movies,

it arrives with its own franchised video game from Ubisoft. You get about the same narrative but with gameplay features that allow you to enjoy the character’s adventure across North Africa and Europe for about three hours more than the movie’s 1.5 hours of run time. But Tintin didn’t need Spielberg to carry its appeal since the reporter-cum-boy-scout from the Belgian comic book artist Georges Remi (aka Hergé) is among the most well-loved European comic series character since it appeared in 1929. Yes, that’s how old the character is, and the world is now richer for the definitive movie adaptation. But is it also richer for the accompanying video game?

The Good News about The Adventures of Tintin

For starters, the game exudes the same visual extravaganza with the sharp bold colors and exquisite 2D landscapes along with the gorgeous soundtrack as in its movie cousin. Most of its gameplay time goes to creative platforming that gets more difficult as you go up the levels. In between platforming, there are puzzles to solve, hand-to-hand combat with the enemies and some sneaking both Tintin and Snowy dog need to go through while picking up items from the environment like beach balls to throw off enemies.

The Co-opt feature is inventively crafted to extract the most fun when playing with a friend to control Tintin and Capt. Haddock. And there are several characters you can unlock along the way to keep you and your buddy busy in a campaign that extends the game to 10 hours of play. Just be sure you watched the movie.

Xbox 360 users with the Kinect controller will get further kicks as Ubisoft incorporated an entirely different set of sub-games harnessing the Kinect advantage. Pulled out from the main game as minigame versions, they feature some piloting, swordplay and motorbike sequences that maximize the fun out of your Kinect experience.

The Adventures of Tintin - The Game (Credit: Ubisoft)

The Not So Good News about The Adventures of Tintin

While The Adventures Of Tintin – The Game delights the gamer in some moments, it somehow misses out on the superb epic dimensions that surround the cinematic experience, even assuming you’re playing it on your
42-inch plasma at home. Pacing is a bit off and the action sequences lack the adrenalin pump you expect in adventure games. One disappointing fight scene with the boss repeats the fight pattern in at least three sequences with only a change in the background.

The game goes off into occasional tedium as when Tintin and company go into aerial dogfights and dodge tornadoes in a biplane or motorbike through desert canyons. There’s nothing challenging in these sequences and I have the impression Ubisoft just threw them in to break the rather monotonous but challenging platforming sequences. In addition, I noticed scenes that are less developed than others while control is not as accurate as I would like them to be.

The Bottom Line

The Adventures of Tintin – The Game is clearly crafted for kids as well as those who have not forgotten how to be kids. At the core is a competent action and adventure platformer. Never mind the lack of character detailing or less than visceral challenges; anyone can delight at its unique styling and charm along with a fantastic soundtrack. If you’re a fan of Tintin and the Spielberg-Jackson movie, there’s no better way to continue the cinematic experience at home than with this game, until the Blu-Ray comes out. And if you can get it at a bargain price in the next few months, get one as a specimen of what a decent movie spinoff is about.