PlayStation 3 Review: Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension

Disney Interactive has been on something of a roll with games for HD consoles, with last year’s Toy Story 3 and the more recent Cars 2 game both being excellent.  The games were actually good enough that it left you wondering if Disney Interactive should grab the Marvel license away from Sega too.  The newest game from Disney, developed by Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank PSP game veterans, High Impact, is Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension and it’s pretty good too.  Unfortunately there are a few issues that severely limit its appeal and audience.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension is also available on the Nintendo Wii and as such, doesn’t really push the PlayStation 3 hardware.  This isn’t really a problem because of the animation style of the cartoon series it’s based off.  The game also features PlayStation Move support with the Motion and Navigation controllers, again just like the Wii.  The Move controls don’t offer any benefits over the standard controller scheme though, in this isometric third person shooter.  It makes you wonder why anyone would even bother implementing an inferior control scheme.

Across the Second Dimension, which is based on the Disney Channel movie, is very much a game for younger kids.  Adults or older kids will find no challenge in this game at all although, the drop in/drop out co-op allows helping in more challenging areas.  The controls are really simple with a jump button, an attack/use button, and the ability to cycle weapons with the D-pad.  The standard top down shooting is broken up with some flying levels, a couple of mini games and a chance to spend collected coins in a claw machine or on skee ball to win tickets.

The six weapons are doled out to Phineas and Ferb throughout the game.  In addition to accumulating weapons, players will also take control of a couple of other characters, with more including the saccharin sweet Isabella available for purchase with game tickets won between levels.  The previously mentioned claw machine can offer instant sound and color mods for weapons or they can be purchased with alternate costumes for tickets as well.  The unlockables along with the included Phineas and Ferb episodes are a somewhat compelling reason to keep Across the Second Dimension around for the kids.

This game literally doesn’t have the same shine as the two recent Pixar games with the cut scenes looking a little washed out.  The animations and sounds also come off as a patchwork effort as if the game has been pasted over the existing Ratchet and Clank game.  Kids certainly won’t mind what more savvy gamers will dismiss as passé and as stated before, this really is a game for younger children.  With all of that being said, the game would have benefited with a couple more playable girl characters.  The series has a huge girl following and could have done more to acknowledge it.  The game also isn’t terribly long and even with a fair amount of unlockables, will probably not get as much play time as the Lego games.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Cartoon Violence and Comic Mischief. This game can also be found on: Nintendo DS and Wii.