The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn Review [3DS]

Movie tie-ins have gained a rather notorious reputation for not being very good, and we have to say that unfortunately, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn does very little to improve this reputation.

The game starts (rather oddly) with a mini-game. Players must try and fly an aeroplane through a thunderstorm whilst avoiding several random lightening strikes.

However, as there are no instructions for this portion of the game, players could find themselves with a 'Game Over' screen before they've even properly started! Nevertheless, once past this early section, a set off clear on-screen instructions helps players to know what to do next.

The game is divided into chapters and the main plot is told in a series of animated 3D comic-strip stills, which are very entertaining and look graphically stunning in 3D.

Nevertheless, as with other games of this type, the actual playable missions contain a set of very easy and unexciting tasks such as 'ESCAPE' or 'FIND TINTIN' or 'FOLLOW ALLAN' etc.

In fact, the only portions of the early levels that we found remotely interesting was when we were able to play as Tintin's pet dog, Snowy.

Snowy has the ability to dig at soft earth in tunnels and to climb up walls using his paws. He can also sniff out other characters, which adds a refreshing extra dimension to what would otherwise be a very repetitive game.

The game seems to be marketed at gamers under the age of ten, but this is at odds with the game's 12+ rating (for violence).

However, even the apparently 'violent' comical fighting scenes are aimed at a younger intelligence. For example, the majority of bad guys face away from Tintin, which means that they can be easily defeated with a quick blow to the back of the head. Occasionally one or two enemies will come bounding across and attack Tintin first, but again, this is a rare and refreshing experience.

One area in which the game does temporarily redeem itself is with the end-of-level Boss characters, including Allan Thompson. These 'Boss' fights really do require ingenuity on the part of the player and help to lift this otherwise stagnant game.

In conclusion, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is a good game for younger gamers, but would fail to impress an adult audience overall.

Although the 3D graphics do look amazing, there is not enough clear plot or in-game action to make this game a worthwhile purchase except to the most die-hard of Tintin fans, and perhaps not even then... a total disappointment. Overall rating 5/10.