The Smurfs 2 (2013)

I am on a journey to beat 360 random Xbox 360 games. Here's my next adventure

Game number 43 was The Smurfs 2. This is a 2D platformer set in the world of the Smurfs and you essentially play through the plot of the 2013 movie “Smurfs 2.”

The story of this game is extremely standard. The evil wizard Gargamel has created a couple of smurf-like creatures called “naughties” but they are not good enough for some reason and he needs smurf essence to make them better… I really wasn’t following the plot very much. So, he kidnaps Smurfette and some other Smurfs to utilize their essence. You play as the few Smurfs left behind and are tasked with saving the captured smurfs.

Each of the levels consists of platforming across various obstacles in order to get to the end. One thing that was really charming was that the smurfs are tiny, which led to interesting stage design. Most of the things that you platform on are tiny objects in a forest or in a city. Every so often, you will get a super power which will make special music start playing and all the blips that you collect turn bigger and are worth more points.

One fun aspect of the game is that you get to choose which Smurf you want to play as before each level. Each of the different Smurfs have different attack abilities and it's a nice way to keep gameplay feeling interesting throughout the game’s 30 levels.

The difficulty of this game is extremely easy… too easy for anyone who regularly plays video games to have fun. For instance, I didn’t die at all throughout my time playing Smurfs 2. I have played other children’s games throughout this challenge, like Planet 51 or Ratatouille but I still died a few times throughout playing them. Smurfs 2 feels almost insultingly easy, even for kids.

Overall, Smurfs 2 was an okay 2D platformer with a decent amount of charm and I think it's a nice touch to include special abilities for all the Smurfs… but it is ultimately held back by its utter lack of challenge. Give this to a child who is extremely young or to someone who is very interested in the movie Smurfs 2… otherwise stay away. (3/10) I spent 2 hours, 57 minutes, and 13 seconds playing Smurfs 2

I have spent a total of 420 hours and 35 minutes on the Road To 360 Challenge so far

Next Game: Alone in the Dark