This movie tie-in isn’t the first videogame to feature an OAP as a playable character (I’m guessing that Supergran on the Spectrum has that honour) but it’s quite possibly the first Xbox 360 game to do so. Worry not – this isn’t about shuffling down the shops to buy a new pair of slippers and a bag of Werther’s Originals. It’s actually about a retired balloon salesman who ties thousands of balloons to his house and sails off to a tropical island, unknowingly taking a boy scout along for the ride.
What we have here is ten levels of Lego Star Wars inspired platform adventuring with a couple of “My First Flight Sim†airborne combat battles. For 90% of the game you play as Carl and Russell, swapping between the two at the press of a button to use their skills accordingly to progress. Carl can use his cane to push heavy objects and scare off bats with his faulty hearing aid; Russell can shimmy along ledges and cut through vines and spider webs with his keys. The third playable character is Dug the dog who can crawl through small gaps. And pilot a bi-plane.