Parent's Guide: Deadfall Adventures - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

An adventuring themed first person action/puzzler, Deadfall Adventures is a game that puts you in the shoes of James Lee Quartermain, the grandson of legendary adventurer Allan Quartermain in an adventure that mixes the best parts of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and the Mummy together.

Refusing to fit itself into any box, Deadfall Adventures mixes together brain teasing puzzles with traditional first person shooting to create a game that should please both camps. With the ability to set the difficulty levels for both puzzles and combat separately, you can tailor the game to your preferences, letting those who'd rather test their brain than their reflexes create a game that suits them, and those who'd rather not have to pause for puzzles have theirs. Exploring the narrow, dusty corridors of the pyramids, ruins and tombs, you'll switch between having to defend yourself against Nazis, to having all the time in the world to explore at your own will, as you stay on high alert for traps that have been built into the pyramid, and make use of a handy compass to find treasure.

While the ability to adjust the difficulty settings independently means most playersshould be able to configure the game to suit their needs, there are some things some players may struggle with, as Deadfall has its fair share of tricky moments, no matter what difficulty you're playing on. Picking out distant grey enemies against a grey background isn't the easiest of tasks, and while those playing on easy can absorb a lot of damage and still keep going, newer players may find the combat sections frustrating, especially as the checkpoints are fairly distant. With pyramids that are littered with traps, too, some of which require careful analogue stick controls to avoid, this is a game that's more appropriate for older players, and those who're more experienced in first person shooters.

As a game that revolves around the raiding of tombs and a fair amount of gunplay, Deadfall Adventures contains some content parents may want to know about.

While you'll spend a lot of time shooting at either Nazis or mummies, the game isn't as gory as it could be. Enemies give out small spurts of blood when shot, but perhaps more concerning is the large splats they leave behind on the ground. Throughout your journey through the tombs, you'll often come across the bodies of adventurers who've come a cropper before you, impaled on the wall with spikes. While there's no visual deformation of the body, they are usually sitting in a pool of blood.

In terms of sex, there's very little here to speak of, with about the worst offended being Quartermain himself, who's caught staring at his adventuring partner's behind in an early cutscene, and makes several references to her behind - "Hagen saved that well-shaped ass of yours". Swearing, meanwhile, is similarly minor, with the odd "a**hole" being as strong as its gets.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360