Megamind: Ultimate Showdown

Name: Megamind: Ultimate Showdown
Item: Megamind: Ultimate Showdown
Rating: 3
Author: Christopher Healy

Game review by

Christopher Healy, Common Sense Media

Megamind: Ultimate Showdown Game Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

(i)

Game starts where movie ends; jammed with sci-fi fighting.

PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
$39.99
2010

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Megamind: Ultimate Showdown Game: Screenshot #1

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

Positive Messages

The game takes place where the movie leaves off, with fomer-supervillain Megamind having renounced his evil ways and trying to live a new life as a hero. As such, the story is a tale of redemption.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Megamind is a former bad guy who wants to make good. He's violent and whiny, but he is essentially a positive character.

Ease of Play

The controls work reasonably well. Jumping can be a bit difficult, because landing needs to be very precise. But the fighting controls work very smoothly.

Violence

As Megamind or his battle-suited minion, you will blast enemies and objects with various ray guns. Enemies will yell, fall, and vanish when hit. You can also engage in melee combat with bad guys, punching and kicking them. Some parts (which can be re-played as mini-games) include vehicluar violence as well, including big explosions. All of the violence is treated in a cartoony way, but there is quite a lot of it.

Sex

Language

Consumerism

The game is a tie-in to the new Dreamworks animated film, Megamind. It is also one of three entirely different Megamind games that released on the same day.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Megamind: Ultimate Showdown is a video-game sequel to the new animated film, Megamind, but that unlike the targeted audience of the movie (kids ages 6 and up), this game is for kids ages 10 and older. The protagonist of the game is a former villain who has renounced his evil ways and taken up being a hero. There's a lot of cartoony violence in the game, including ray gun blasts, vehicle crashes, exploding missiles, and hand-to-hand fighting. While frequent, the violence is never very graphic, though. Be aware that this is only one of three different Megamind games, each with a different subtitle.

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What's it about?

MEGAMIND: ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN picks up where the movie, Megamind, leaves off (although, if you haven't seen the movie, the beginning of this story may seem rather abrupt and you may have no idea who anybody is). The alien supervillain, Megamind, has renounced his evil ways and now plans to use his devices of destruction to protect his city. But the wicked Doom Syndicate steals his stuff. So off Megamind must go to battle the real bad guys and keep his new city safe.

Is it any good?

For a movie tie-in, Megamind: Ultimate Showdown is a pretty decent game. First and foremost, the hi-def graphics look amazing and the animations are incredibly smooth and realistic looking. There's nothing startlingly new about the gameplay: you'll blast lots of enemies, hop through platform-jumping areas, solve puzzling obstacle challenges, and collect energy balls that can be used between levels to upgrade your weapons. It's a fun little addition to the Megamind universe for kids who enjoyed the movie. If you approach the game with that in mind -- as opposed to say, expecting the next big thing in video games -- you probably won't be disappointed.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the violence in the game. Since it occurs in a cartoonish, science fiction setting, does the violence here seem less troublesome than it would in a more realistic game? How does the level of violence here compare to that in the movie?
Do movie-based games enhance your overall experience with the stories and characters involved? Or do they feel like marketing ploys? Is it different when a game expands upon the story of a film, rather than trying to replicate it?