Stuart Little 2

In time for Stuart Little 2 appearing in movie theatres this summer, Sony launches their first Stuart Little PS One game. I admit it' I like Stuart Little and my kids' well they absolutely love him. There is something about this diminutive hero with a heart of gold taking on the colossal wrongs of this world that brings out the underdog lover in all of us.

Your mission is to help your canary friend, Margola, retrieve stolen jewelry that has been scattered around various locations in Manhattan. These locations range from rooms in the Little?s house, where you climb up dressers, run across kitchen counters and swim in bathtubs, to more exotic locations like the Manhattan sewer system, Central Park and even aboard a tugboat. While the task of finding the jewelry and other items would be challenging enough by itself, your job is further complicated by the myriad of bugs and wind-up robots that get in your way.

To deal with these nasties, Stuart is equipped with a vicious 'tail-whip'? and a mighty arm to throw marbles, jewels and other items found lying around. When all else fails, Margola is always available to help you out should you get stuck or fall into a pool of goo, which I did several times.

The game is definitely geared to the younger crowd, but is certainly a good game to play with your children. My daughter, Rachel, who is only 5 years old, was able to move around pretty well for many of the levels before the game play became too difficult. A new trend that I am seeing with games that are released in tandem with a movie release is the ability to uncover hidden snippets of the actual movie as rewards for passing levels or locating special objects in the game.

While I enjoyed the game, I did have minor one complaint. In many places within the game, you are required to talk with Margola to find out more information or to play the 12 mini-games, however, the game is a bit hypersensitive regarding where you are standing before Margola will recognize that you want to talk with her. It was even more painful as I watched my daughter have to repeatedly reposition Stuart in front of Margola before finally the game prompts you to speak to her. Overall the game is fun for kids and except for a couple of places, they can pretty much play the game by themselves (assuming they are at least 6 years of age). I can't recommend it as a definite buy, because the game is pretty short and the levels get repetitive, but if you are a fan of the movies, your kids will love Stuart Little 2.