Asterix & Obelix XXL 3, the review

If you have come this far to read ours Asterix & Obelix XXL review 3 it is clear that you know, at least partially, the work of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo: the comic turns sixty years old in 2019, and the various animated films and cartoons it gave life to in the last half century. Once in a while, then, it is an all-European excellence, specifically French: the Gallic warriors protagonists, well known also in Spain, are almost unknown in America and Japan. The arrival of Asterix & Obelix XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir on the market, among other things, was not even so obvious: also thanks to the publisher Microids, who last year proposed the remaster of Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum (published in 2005), and which is back in these days with a real new chapter, more than ten years later. But does a video game dedicated to Asterix and Obelix still have its raison d'être today? How did it have to change its nature to adapt to modern times? And above all, the legacy of Étranges Libellules (developers of the previous title) with how much fidelity has been collected by Osome Studio?



The plot: these Romans are crazy

Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 presents a plot not particularly brilliant, but in line with the narrative ideas and situations to which more than fifty years of comics and cinema based on the Gauls franchise have by now accustomed us: here, therefore, the two protagonists Asterix and Obelix (and the faithful dog of the latter, Idefix) set off on an adventure to save something or someone. In particular, in this case it is a priestess, a longtime friend of Panoramix: she has warned the village that the whole world is in danger. The woman must be found and everyone saved, but no one knows where she is ... apart from a magical Menhir.



Asterix & Obelix XXL 3, the review

And when it comes to Menhir, Obelix obviously needs to load him behind his back with a lot of methodical delicacy: after all, the rooster in question is very strong, having fallen as a child into the pot of the magic potion. Then begins theadventure of the two protagonists, articulated in some chapters (not excessively long) that will take them from time to time in different settings, however, always full of Roman warriors to be beaten. Meanwhile, the player will unlock some powers related to both the protagonists and their travel companion menhir, thus enriching the actual game offer.

The title offers three different ones difficulty levels, from the simplest to the most difficult, with a challenge that can turn out to be interesting most of the time even for the most experienced of the genre. To get the Platinum Trophy on PlayStation 4 it is mandatory to complete the adventure even in hard mode.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 has a nice sparkling Platinum Trophy: taking it home will not be impossible, but not as easy as you might imagine in such a production. First of all it will be necessary to complete the plot in difficult mode; and as for the 200 consecutive combo trophy ... well, good luck with those Romans.


Gameplay: many changes, same blows

Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 presents a visual setting and a gameplay profoundly different from those of its predecessor, that is Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum: the narrative context of the production remained intact more than anything else, impossible to change because obviously linked to the French work of reference. More than a real action, now the series seems to have made the characteristics of the scrolling fighting game its own: you proceed in very linear levels eliminating all the enemies on the screen, with some standard moves and other special ones.


Asterix & Obelix XXL 3, the review

The approach is diversified according to the character that is controlled at the given moment: Asterix is ​​agile in his movements and faster, but Obelix naturally hits harder and has a much more generous energy bar. The latter allows you to perform special skills (and specifics), such as pirouettes capable of hitting all Romans in the vicinity, uppercuts that send them into orbit (also with nice sound effects), and so on. Some "moves" are then necessary to continue through the levels: Asterix can jump from platform to platform, Obelix cannot.

Asterix & Obelix XXL 3, the review

To understand this it is important to underline that in Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 it was definitely jump command removed, therefore also the vertical exploration of the world is practically absent, or in any case limited to short situations and a few platforms in full evidence. From time to time the progression requires you to solve very short and linear environmental puzzles (like "pull the lever and lower that grate"). Later in the adventure the menhir of the title is unlocked, and here the offer becomes more diversified: on balance, the control of Asterix is ​​"abandoned" to bet everything on Obelix, the only one able to use the powers of the fire and ice against enemies. It is a shame that the production exploits these few ideas in almost every situation, albeit in an original way: with a few more powers and a greater variety in the enemies and in the present worlds, the game would have been much more interesting.

Also the view has changed compared to Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum. The third person has been replaced with a general bird's eye view with isometric perspective. You see the game world and the characters acting like in a close Diablo 3, in short. The beautiful dubbing in Spanish deserves a particular mention, pleasant and not to be taken for granted in such a title; the texts on the screen, on the other hand, would need some adjustments from the spelling and grammatical point of view, but also from this point of view all in all the result is pleasant, especially if we consider that for products with a limited budget usually one has to be satisfied with the English language both in the texts on the screen and in the dialogues.



Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery PlayStation Store Price 49,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

6.8

Readers (5)

8.2

Your vote

Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 is not a particularly original title, but it is still a fun experience, addressed above all (if not exclusively) to lovers of Asterix, Obelix and more generally of French comics. The price is fairly high, but you can take home an adventure that closely follows the events seen in the recent animated films of the Roosters, the last of which (Asterix and the magic potion) is expressly mentioned. The cooperative mode, which allows two players to participate together in the same session at any time, but only locally, is probably the most successful aspect of the whole operation; to counterbalance it we find an excessive linearity, very marginal significant innovations, and a general monotony in the progression, in the game world and in the proposed situations, not least in the gameplay itself.

PRO

  • Very faithful to the series
  • Excellent dubbing
  • Good and fun multiplayer mode
AGAINST
  • Extremely linear
  • Not very varied, almost immediately repetitive
  • The texts on the screen have some errors
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