Ratatouille (PS2)

This simple minded platformer, loosely based on the plot of the current Pixar movie, sees gastronomically-gifted rat Remy on a journey through Paris. With great voice acting offered from the cast of the movie, the characters become instantly likeable. The main game is your usual platform affair with the standard token collecting and puzzle incentives. Along the way you encounter a good variety of enemies, from cats, to bulldogs, to crabs, to angry humans. The sense of scale is awesome, with Remy running across ropes, hanging from windows and sliding down drain pipes on the Parisian rooftops.

However, a few slight glitches in the control mechanic sometimes leave you feeling cheated and plummeting to your death. Graphically this game looks great for the PS2, with some nice filters, blurs and particle effects through out. Of particular note is the “sniff” mechanic which shows the route to your goal with a nice winding sparkly golden scent trail you can almost smell in the room. Unless you're younger than 7, you'd be unlikely to pick this off the shelf, but if you're a dad or a big brother who ends up having to play this with a young'un then at least it won't feel like too much of a chore.

Released 28th September 2007 by THQ.

Written by Nick Gripton.