Asterix at the Olympic Games review

Asterix never takes itself seriously, featuring a near constant stream of meta-observations. In a world where everyone’s name ends in ‘ix’, Getafix has a friend called Watchadivvix. Sublime. Even the plot revolves around Brutus opening portals between dimensions. He’s planning to take control of them all, causing real-life human characters to start appearing in the world of Asterix, while Getafix has been turned into a 2D sheet of paper.

Letting you switch control between both Asterix and Obelix on the fly, the action is split between platforming through the Olympic city and completing challenges to unlock new areas. Initially these are novel ideas, such as fighting Romans in sequence to create a tune or angling mirrors to light Olympic torches. It’s a shame how quickly they begin to repeat themselves. Between each area you’ll be competing in the games themselves, throwing javelins, sprinting and otherwise hammering the keys. All of the games are fun, and once unlocked can be played any time.

Dogmatix, your ever-faithful pup, barks to draw your attention towards important objects. The entire game can be played in co-op mode, with you and a friend teaming up as Asterix and Obelix. The combat is thoroughly fleshed-out, letting you grab Romans by their ankles and spin them around your head, smacking everyone in the vicinity. It’s exactly the kind of thing that used to happen in the comics, recreated lovingly, and with umpteen more moves to learn. Asterix invites comparison to LEGO Star Wars. It’s co-op, it’s crafted with a similar affection for its subject matter, but it’s just not as repeatedly surprising.

Apr 16, 2008