Fearless mouse Despereaux stars in 2 video games

— -- For kids who enjoyed watching the brave adventures of the big-eared mouse in Universal Pictures' The Tale of Despereaux, there are two video game choices starring this heroic rodent.

Both of the games are called The Tale of Despereaux, and follow the story of the movie, which is based on Kate DiCamillo's Newberry Award-winning book. But the games are different: The one for the Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 2 and PC is rated Everyone 10+ and is an adventure game full of platform puzzles with some combat. The version for the Nintendo DS is an Everyone-rated side-scrolling game about navigating through interesting environments, with occasional combat. If you are trying to decide between the two, choose the Nintendo DS version — it's the better game.

Console and PC versions

The console and PC versions play out over 15 levels, as Despereaux explores the kingdom of Dor, befriends Princess Pea and tries to save her when she is kidnapped. You control Despereaux as he learns to shimmy up walls, float in the air after he jumps by using his oversized ears, tiptoe past humans, jump from wall to wall, straddle narrow pathways, swing on ropes and many more mouse-like actions.

The world depicted is fascinating to look at because you see everything from the perspective of a mouse. In each level, it is fun to see just what things Despereaux can or cannot climb on.

But controlling Despereaux is where this game runs into a bit of trouble because it is harder than it should be. Despereaux tends to float places you don't want him to go, and getting him to jump on the exact spot he should is frustrating. The game uses a fixed camera angle so, at times, it is very hard to judge where to jump.

On the plus side, this game is made for children because it provides lots of hints, including a trail of cheese to follow to help you make it through each level. The game automatically saves numerous times within each level so that if you fail (and you will), you don't have to replay the whole level. And the game can be played on two levels of difficulty.

The E10+ rating is a result of the combat in the game. One level is particularly scary when you have to fight giant hairy spiders that are bigger than Despereaux.

DS version

Between the game's 36 levels (the last six are bonus levels), the game tells the story of Despereaux via narrative sequences shown as a book turning pages. Each level is short and can be completed in two to 15 minutes. Using a side-scrolling mechanism, you control Despereaux as he runs, jumps, scurries up walls and uses a grappling hook to traverse wide spaces. Despereaux can also pick up and throw objects, which create interesting puzzles about how to use these objects to trigger mousetraps or activate pulleys.

While this DS version of the game is shorter than the others, it is more fun because the controls are finely tuned. In these challenging environments, you always feel you can make it through by searching carefully or thinking through the puzzle. In the other versions, you frequently find yourself just hurling yourself at things to see if you luck into that one spot that will enable you to stick to a wall or jump to the right spot.

Also, the levels are amazingly inventive and constantly changing, making the game fun to play throughout. For example, when in the dungeon, you can tap a torch with your stylus and then transfer the fire to light a candle. When you do, a menacing rat will cower in the light so that you can run past it.

As with the other versions, this game has frequent save points and a generous number of lives, so kids won't feel frustrated. And while there is combat using a sewing needle as your sword to defeat beetles, birds and other creatures, the adversaries don't seem as scary as in the other versions.

Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine. Contact her at gnstech@gns.gannett.com.