Flushed Away PS2 Review

Flushed Away is one of those games that offers few real surprises, it’s a game based on a movie after all, and in these situations it’s rare for any creative forces to show their power. Basically, most development teams play it safe with movie licences, and that’s why generic games are always the order of the day, with that said at least Flushed Away is solid and playable, something which can’t be said for some (Terminator 3, anyone?).

Roddy St. James is a upper-class English rat who has made a home for himself in a Kensington flat, but after being flushed down the toilet by a sewer rat, his life is drastically altered and thus his desire to return to topside becomes strong. As Roddy’s dress sense is remarkably different from the more common rats, flattering remarks constantly come his way as you make your way through the odious sewers. As the movie was a co-production between Aardman and DreamWorks there’s plenty of witty and entertaining dialogue during the intervals when your fingers are idle.

There’s three sides to this gaming adaptation, initially you’ll take control of the smartly dressed Roddy, but as you progress you’ll also be leaping through the sewers with Rita (a thieving rat that soon crosses paths with Roddy) and sailing through the unpleasant waters in the Jammy Dodger (Rita’s very British named customisable ship).

The two characters aren’t only altered in appearance from one another, but also have differences in their actions. Roddy can glide short distances using his umbrella (which also doubles as a weapon) whilst Rita can soar to greater heights by making use of her grappling hook. Apart from these differences, the duo are effectively the same, both possessing melee weapons and the obligatory double-jump.

There’s everything you would expect to find in a platform game, which means a heavy amount of jumping and a simple combat system. There’s a hub where you learn your tasks, which include everything from simple fetch missions to taking out enemies, although rarely does the game stray from this repetition. As mentioned earlier there’s zero surprises here.

The Jammy Dodger sections are meanwhile pretty well done, although at times the boat does feel a little sluggish. The Dodger can jump (which is useful when obstacles are in your path) and fire weapons to take out enemies. There’s also the occasional on-rails sections where you man the gun as Roddy whilst Rita controls the boat.

Flushed Away’s problems range from dull unappealing level design and generally bland graphics to repetitive dialogue when your enemies kick the bucket (believe us you’ll agree when you’ve heard giant spider after giant spider say “I go to the great web in the sky”). But crucially there’s nothing terribly wrong with this one, and the target audience should be pleased with the rodents as well as the results.

7/10