Despicable Me: Minion Mania – Review

When ‘Despicable Me’ was released in the theaters this past summer, Namco released a franchise iPhone game.  With the release of the DVD, that same game has had it’s price decreased by 80%.  Now you can have your very own Minions for a buck.

Ironically, the game has very little to do with the actual movie (it’s more of a prequel) and does something fairly original.  You control two or more Minions in Gru’s lab.  You have to escape each area of the lab by moving one Minion to a control or key that would deactivate a certain trap or blockade and keeping it there while moving the other Minion past the trap or blockade.

Controlling the Minions is somewhat confusing.  Even worse, it’s difficult to remember which Minion you’re actually controlling and may unintentionally move a Minion to somewhere you don’t want it to be.  Even even worse, it’s tough to figure out exactly where the control for the trap or blockade actually is, but determining that is half the fun of the game.

Another downside to the game is the ease at which one can get to the finish.  While this is worth it for a buck, it’s tough to justify for the original price of five bucks.

Ultimately, ‘Minion Mania’ is a puzzle game and a pretty good one at that.  It could just as easily worked with any generic scientist and assistants.  The fact that someone took the effort to think of something original to do with the franchise says only good things about this game.