We often hear the following about movie games: Some person who made Movie X wants a game. Person hires Company A to make one. Company A either has too little time to make Game B or just takes an existing formula from another game and calls it a day. Some games do better than what I've mentioned above, and there are others that are go above and beyond to the point of excellence. The Adventures of Tin Tin (which will now be abbreviated as AoT) for the iPad (which is a different game from the other platforms but with an identical premise) is one of those games that are in the latter category, a lock-in for MUST GET in the iPad collection.
The Adventures of Tin Tin follows the story of one of Hergé's Tin Tin books, The Secret of the Unicorn. That's where the titular character buys a beautiful miniature ship, only to realize that the ships contain a powerful, well-kept secret, leading to Tin Tin and others fighting over the ship(s) to access this secret. Now, having watched the Secret of the Unicorn in both the comics and the animated TV show, I see that the storyline of the game has some variations, probably just to allow for more action sequences. It briefly uses source material from another Tin Tin story, the Crab with the Golden Claws so as to introduce Captain Haddock, a major character in the story.
Although the plot doesn't have a thematic edge to it, I still found myself drawn to the ride nevertheless for two reasons: The suspense and intrigue the plot generates and the characters. Tin Tin and Haddock, the two main characters, are well depicted and are faithful to the source material, and seeing their attitudes bounce off one another makes me chuckle from time to time. The story also
AoT is divided into 9 chapters, although I don't really know how to categorize the game's genre. Probably the most noticeable part of the game is its platforming/stealth hybrid, where Tin Tin, Snowy (Tin Tin's dog) and Haddock would to negotiate with the terrain while avoiding detection. There are also the quick-time events in most of the chapters where you'll need to tap and slide to the prompts the game gives you. There are also parts that remind you of the iPhone classic Cut the Rope, where you'll need to cut the rope at the precise order and time so as to deliver Object A to Point B. The last prominent part is the combat sequence, probably the weakest part of the gameplay due to its repetition, where you guide Sir Francis Haddock (ancestor of Captain Haddock) in combat against a bunch of pirates during a flashback scene. That's most of the things you do, but there are some other sequences that are scattered throughout the game.
Personally, I like the quicktime events, they are exciting to watch (especially the last chapter. I'm serious, you have to watch it at least once) and are very easy to complete so the whole flow of the sequence won't be broken. But that brings me another point; as a whole, the game is pretty easy to complete. Even when you do lose (like get detected or fail to finish a quicktime sequence several times), the game just quickly restarts not far from where you failed and moves on from there. I think the difficulty is just; you'll fail once or twice per chapter but it won't be because of cheapness on the part of the game. The controls are very smooth and will not be a hindrance, and although I do admit that there are some instances when it is a bit wonky, those moments are few and far between. All and all, you'll enjoy playing the game and following the adventure from start to finish.
The gameplay aspect is more than respectable in its own right, but the presentation takes the cake by a landslide. AoT is the one of the best games in terms of its looks and sounds. It has the complete package. Character models and environments are the most crisp and detailed you'll find in the iPad, and even still the game never freezes up or slows down. The music is not largely memorable but do a fantastic job of responding to what's happening in the action, roaring up at climactic moments while remaining subtle at every other time. And while I've had to adjust to the voice acting of Tin Tin, Haddock and others, it was a short adjustment, and I came to appreciate how the voice actors inject the personality and feel of the characters as if they were taken out straight from the comic books. As a whole, AoT is a fantastic game to hear and see; i cannot stress enough how its presentation blew me away.
Sadly, you'll finish the main story mode in under 5 hours, although there is a bonus activity you can do. Throughout the levels there are coins and puzzle pieces scattered around, so if you've a completionist finding all those trinkets might add more playing time. If you grab all the pieces to puzzle, you can assemble them to see a picture or convert into a 3D model of the picture's subject (eg. if the puzzle has a picture of Tin Tin running, the model will be 3D model of Tin Tin running). You can use the coins you've gathered to buy additional puzzles that aren't in the levels.
Yeah, the game might be short and it doesn't have an overwhelming difficulty level, but AoT is a hell of a game for the iPad. It has everything for the casual gamer and will give a good, albeit brief, experience to more hardcore gamers. Its story is amusing, easy to grasp and faithful to the source material. I won't be surprised if this game is in contention for iPad game of the year (or the top Adventure game or whatever genre it belongs to). More importantly, I hope that there can be future sequels for this game. Not the type of thing you usually say about movie tie-in games, eh?
Analusis de machina:
Story: 4.5/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Bonuses, Alternatives, Replay value: 3/5
Final Verdict: 4.5 stars
I repeat: A MUST GET for iPad games