Despicable Me: The Game - Minion Mayhem (Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi)

The plot of DESPICABLE ME: THE GAME -- MINION MAYHEM is loosely based on that of the film it is named after, but focuses on supervillain Gru's adorable minion henchmen. Gru is in competition with Vector, another evil genius, and wants to outdo him by creating one monstrous device after another. To create these evil machines, he calls his minions into service. In the game, you will control the minions. Well, sort of -- Minions basically go where they want, but you have to manipulate the environment to make sure they're not hurt or misdirected in the process.

Despicable Me: The Game -- Minion Mayhem is a novel and entertaining approach to adapting a film into a video game. Putting the focus on the scene-stealing minions, rather than the movie's protagonist, Gru, was a bold, but ultimately successful idea. The game plays out like the evolutionary descendent of games like Lemmings. Once you set a minion loose, it will move along on its own -- you have to hit buttons, slide levers, move elevators, and more in order to get the minions where you want them to go and keep them safe from obstacles. The pace can be quite frantic, especially when you've got four or more minions milling about at once. And figuring out how to get them where you want them can be very challenging. But the game is incredibly entertaining even while it's making you shriek (in a good way).