I never really read any of the Paddington Bear books when I was a kid, which is where that character got his start. But when I was little, I do remember seeing lots of Paddington Bear stop-motion animated shorts on TV and on filmstrips at school (I’m really aging myself here). In fact, Paddington had a perchance for eating marmalade sandwiches, and when I was a kid I had never heard of marmalade. So when I saw it at the grocery store when I was little, I convinced my mom to buy some so I could try Paddington’s favorite treat. I learned something that day, marmalade is DISGUSTING! Why couldn’t he have liked pizza instead? Fast forward to earlier this year. A new Paddington Bear movie hit theaters, and I recently saw it on video. It really wasn’t that bad of a movie at all, a very charming family flick that stays true to the source material. And now you can play a game on the 3DS based on Paddington’s adventures.

In the game you play as Paddington Bear, who moved from Peru to London to stay with the Brown family. Mr. Brown tells Paddington that if he wishes to be a true member of the family, he’ll have to prove his worth by helping out people in the neighborhood and being a gentleman bear. Paddington agrees, and now you must guide him around the streets of London as he helps out the Brown family, Mr. Gruber, Mr. Curry, and other London dwellers. Controls are entirely stylus driven. Tap and double tap on the screen to make Paddington walk or run left and right. Tap on objects to pick them up and tap on people to talk to them. You’ll even use the stylus to play mini-games.

As you walk around the streets of London, you’ll come across people who have a word balloon over their head. Tap to talk with them. They’ll usually have a quest for you, and you’ll have to find hidden items on the street or play a mini-game. These mini-games include keeping Paddington balanced while he carries boxes, a Bejeweled style puzzler where you make marmalade by matching fruit, a rhythm game where you tap to the beat to make Paddington dance with a street musician, finding people wearing certain clothes, tapping on pigeons so Paddington can have a snack in peace, and more! Only problem is the mini-games are way too hard for the game’s audience. I had trouble with quite a few of them myself.

When you complete a task or a mini-game, you’ll earn points. You can also earn points by finding all the hidden marmalade sandwiches in an area. Earn enough points to level up, and a new neighborhood will unlock, with six in all. Only problem is the neighborhoods look all the same, and the earth tone colors with no outlines make it hard to see things sometimes. Luckily items you need to find are usually flashing white, but they can still be hidden very well. It’s not a totally bad game, but the mini-game difficulty and lack of variety keep it from becoming truly charming.

Kid Factor:

Reading skill is a must, as everything is text based. The game could be considered slightly educational, as it teaches good manners and habits like picking up trash and helping out others. But the target audience may find the mini-games too difficult, and younger gamers might get bored or frustrated. I recommend reading the books to them or watching the movie instead. Paddington: Adventures in London is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television