Games made with kids in mind have grown easier at a needlessly fast pace over the years. With "Phineas & Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension," they've finally broken through the bounds of "easy" and washed ashore on "insulting," and it's to the full detriment of what otherwise could have been a pretty cool game.
"Dimension" is based on the movie of the same name, which itself spawns from the "Phineas & Ferb" Disney TV cartoon. If you're familiar with the cartoon, you'll appreciate how well the game mimics its look and personality.
The game play somewhat resembles that of the Lego video games -- a lot of running, jumping and fighting across levels that aren't quite 2-D but aren't completely 3-D, either. Like those games, there are two playable characters onscreen at once, and while playing cooperatively with a friend is the ideal way to go, the A.I. does a nice job with the second character if another player isn't available.
The different dimensions translate perfectly as a video game, allowing "Dimensions" to send players into levels constructed from gelatin, balloons, garden gnomes and even old films. The core game play doesn't deviate dramatically among these areas, but the themes provide the basis for each level to flaunt its share of clever obstacles and puzzles.
Problem is, the game's obstacles don't really feel like obstacles, nor do its puzzles feel like puzzles or the fights like a fight, because the difficultly of all three is absurdly low.
Fall off a platform? No problem: The game resets your position without penalty. Stumped on a puzzle? No, you're not, because the game's interface and dialogue, while often amusing, spells out everything you need to do. Even kids, unless hopelessly inept and allergic to adversity of even the enjoyable kind, will be bored by how gently this one guides them.
If you remain interested, the PlayStation 3 version is the way to go: It looks crisper, and it includes four episodes of the cartoon on the disc.
Just don't make anything of the game's PlayStation Move support: Outside of pressing the Move button instead of X, the game plays exactly the same as it does with a standard controller.
