Disney G-Force (Nintendo DS)

When you picture a highly trained spy, it’s probably not a guinea pig with a headset that springs to mind. Maybe it should be, though, as espionage just evolved with ‘G-Force’, a covert group of animal government agents. We’re talking about the Disney movie, of course, and hand in hand with the G-Force film comes the game. If you’re groaning “Oh no, not another lame movie cash-in”, you’re about to be pleasantly surprised. You see, G-Force for Nintendo DS is actually very good. You play as Darwin, the furry leader of the elite FBI guinea pig squad. As with the movie the game is based on, your objective is to stop the Saberlink Corporation from taking over the world with vicious household appliances that have come alive. It’s a dangerous mission, and along the way you enlist help from the team. ‘Mooch’, a surveillance expert housefly that can fit into tiny spaces, is this reviewer’s favourite. Gameplay is fairly fast paced, and quickly develops in complexity. It’s certainly not just about taking down deranged irons and toasters with guinea pig brawn; there’s also a substantial element of problem solving to navigate tricky environments. Then there’s the puzzle solving: when Darwin hacks computer terminals, touchscreen mini-games are initiated where you have to solve a puzzle by connecting pipes with the stylus. The scale has stayed true to the film, which is to say, Darwin is a tiny guy navigating a big human world. Being so little, sometimes it can be a bit tricky to see over couches and tables and properly assess the surroundings, so a scan mode is provided to allow you to look around. As with any spy, Darwin has an awesome array of high-tech gadgets with which to fight the bad guys. The graphics are good, and cutaway scenes from the movie are a really nice touch. There’s quite a lot of dialogue to read, so this game isn’t really ideal for very small children. All in all, though, this is one of the best movie tie-in games for DS I’ve come across.