While few would contest that teaching old dogs new tricks is a thankless task, the cruellest tragedy about this candy-coloured quest is that even Disneys newest canine hasnt learned to steer clear of the clichéd stunts and set pieces that have driven movie spin-offs since the dawn of videogaming.
A bog standard blend of combat, puzzle solving and platforming, Bolt sees players switching between the heroic hound and his human companion as they take part in hijinks inspired by the movies TV sequences, rather than stickling doggedly with the big screen plot. And while the Bolt sections are crushingly dull as you pound the same two attack buttons to dispatch wave after wave of dumbass enemies, the tedium is mercifully punctuated by Pennys stealth challenges that will genuinely test younger players, and hectic minigames that push the action (albeit briefly) in a new direction.
Bewilderingly, though, the game is completely devoid of plot and personality, the films cheesy charm, cosy storytelling and likable characters sacrificed in favour of an Identikit action adventure that holds zero appeal to anyone over the age of 10.