Arthur and the Invisibles review

You can all thank Atari for doing nothing to raise the bar for the doomed genre that is the game-based-on-movie. Although to be honest, you could hardly blame them in this case, considering the children’s book-turned-abysmal-film Arthur and the Invisibles is their source material.

Arthur begins with the first of many confusing cutscenes that sloppily bridge film footage with in-game footage. Arthur’s grandmother will be evicted unless she can find some cash - apparently, the operative word here really is "find," as Arthur’s uncle may or may not have some buried treasure in their backyard. Based on this, Arthur finds a way to shrink himself into a freaky-looking troll doll, and he’s clumsily introduced to chubby little Betameche, a tiny creature known as a Minimoy. They too look like troll dolls, so an instant bond is apparently formed. After the standard first-level “how to jump” tutorial, you’re bombarded by evil mosquito-riding creeps and you, Betameche and Selenia - another Minimoy who’s never actually introduced - begin your adventure.

You’ll spend the meat of your time switching back and forth amongst the three as you traverse the profoundly dumb, typical level design. Why must we step on three separate platforms at once or pull a lever for 30 seconds to open almost every single door? It must take an army to get across the Minimoy village.