Stuart Little is my favourite little mouse - and that's a fact. I'll start this review off with a sad fact too; we killed a cute little mouse the other day. You see, we thought there were rats running about in one of the wall cavities, so we set a massive rat-trap. "We'll get the bugger," proclaimed Dad while unloading raw bacon onto the sharp tack of doom. He pulled back the deadly neck crushing snapper and put it in the wall. Overnight a lovely little field mouse came running along, probably just going about his business taking photographs like Stuart does in this game, and caught the smell of raw bacon! Hum-um, nothing like some good raw bacon on a cold, windy night! Mouse runs in to check it out, mouse moves in closer for a bite, mouse is no more. When Dad and I came to collect our bounty only to see a cute mouse, it was saddening.

Stuart has managed to avoid the rat-traps and raw bacon smells, going on to have a great movie career. His first two films, which my sisters watch regularly, are wonderful - and now Stuart has his own animated third adventure, with a proper accompanying children's game that will leave parents with a real sense of value for money. I've enjoyed playing Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure because it's simply so easy to pick up, difficult to put down and contains no violence whatsoever. It's a refreshing change for a GTA lover and a there's a really advanced game underneath that will leave kids dumbfounded. "Freedom?" they ask. This is what proper game that we games reviewers like to call a masterpiece, of the children's variety of course.

I think it's worth mentioning that Big Photo Adventure is not about killing blobs of green jelly, trying to poke cats' eyes out, or attempting to kill the master of the underworld before the whole earth is destroyed. Instead, it is simply about taking photos for Stuart's brother, as Stuart crashed his plane into the fish tank and somehow got his brother's whole photo album wet through and ruined, which he needs for an assignment at school. [Wow, this game is even giving kids great excuses for not doing their homework - "It fell in the fish tank miss! Ed] So, it's up to Stuart to retake these fifty photos throughout five different environments and, for a mouse, the adventure is huge. Now you might be laughing at this point, I can almost hear Geoff thinking that I've lost my marbles again, but stay with me here. [Not at all, sounds like a lovely concept! Ed] Using a large array of vehicles at your disposal, as well as a whole host of platforming scenarios throughout five large environments, you can freely roam around - well, it really is like a GTA game for kids.

Still laughing? Well, let me wipe that smile off your face! Stuart has to find flashes scattered around the environment. These flashes, which are for use with his camera, come in two different forms - yellow and blue balls, which are called Charges and Sparks respectively. The small blue balls fill up a maximum of ten holes on the little spark meter and ten of them make a Charge, filling up the overall yellow meter, while the yellow balls fill up the yellow charge counter instantly. Once you've collected enough yellow balls then you get a flash that allows you to take a picture of one of the ten things in the current environment. Flashes become quite hard to find after you've collected the most obvious ones, as they're hidden away, so it's up to you to go exploring around the vast surroundings.

Exploring is what makes this game great and what gives a child the sense of advanced gameplay mechanics. My two youngest sisters couldn't believe their eyes as I entered one of Stuart's garages and pulled out a helicopter, then flew around at will. The five levels are very well thought out; the first level sees you taking Stuart through the backyard, while the second level takes place in the forest. Then there's Stuart's street and two others I'll leave as a surprise. Each level has plenty of hidden spots, loads of things to find and plenty of things to sidetrack the player and keep them entertained. There are always six cat-snacks for Stuart to find on each level to feed Snowbell, who then shows Stuart a secret location that can't be reached without the aid of his pet cat.

To make things even more interesting, Stuart can change into five different Stuarts - the first one is the regular Stuart who takes photos and the second is the Skateboarding Stuart, who has a much better and quicker form of travel. Then there's the Fireman Stuart who has a water hose, similar to Mario Sunshine, which you can use to water plants or wet things that need wetting - the Rain Slicker sees Stuart in a little raincoat wielding a torch, which is needed the explore dark areas and lastly there's the Native American, who has a bow and arrow that can be used to pop balloons, open doors and do a few other things too. All of these forms can be switched mostly on the fly- with no loading times in between and, as you can see, they all have their advantages.

This is one of the things I love and that kids will love too, this ability to change into a new Stuart that can do new things - Stuart even dresses up in clothing to match. A funky little fireman's outfit or a cute Rain Slicker in a tight yellow waterproof anorak. As I mentioned, vehicles play a big part in getting around and vehicles change slightly from level to level. Sometimes new levels grant you access to new vehicles and at other times old vehicles change with the surroundings. Stuart's famous Roadster is here, faster than ever, along with things that fly, float and glide over land - the array of vehicles is huge and it's just so novel to see a little mouse driving a 4x4!

So, back to the aim of the game - taking pictures. You've gathered enough flashes and you're ready to snap happy around the environment. Some things you can take pictures of are just there waiting, while others are hidden somewhere, but don't count on taking pictures without making some effort! Say you need a picture of the Park Ranger for example - well, he might agree to have a picture taken if you help him out by chasing those nasty weasels out of the forest. Or if you want a picture of George he might want to race with you using his RC car - so getting the picture in the first place offers a lot of fun, with varied missions to achieve the objective.

In order to take some pictures you might have to participate in golf games or skateboarding matches, both of which are really polished and don't feel like simple mini additions. The golf takes the crown though - you get to golf on crazy little courses spread around the large environments, each course having some moving object to dodge or some crazy hill to contend with - the golf is so good that it surpasses some budget golf games out there and as all of this comes under the same title as Stuart Little 3, the value for money is through the roof. I'd pay full price for this game, but Internet prices suggest that it's a few pounds above a budget title. You simply cannot go wrong.

The graphics are amazing in the sense that Stuart is so small and the rest of the world is massive. Kids as tall as real trees and real trees as tall as real life giants, these massive human figures bend down to talk to Stuart and Snowbell the cat towers over your little character. They've really got the scale right in this game. I've noticed a little bit of frame rate slowdown while turning corners in my chopper but for the most part the game plays superbly. The detailed cartoon-looking worlds feel very much like Stuart Little and all of the surroundings instantly recognisable if you've seen the films - it really is amazing.

The sound department deserves some recognition too. There's some different music to accompany each of the five worlds and different music for each vehicle you jump into as well. The Roadster gets some jazz for example. When you jump on your skateboard, the music in the background ups tempo to make things sound faster - heard before on Sonic games when you get speed boosts and used to great effect here. The voices in the game are fantastic; there's a lot of detail when talking to people and the phrases that Stuart comes out with aren't repetitive at all. I like talking to somebody who asks me to find something for example and then returning empty handed to see what they say, because they actually say something different, which is a lovely touch.

Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure is probably the least violent game I've ever played in my life. Even when you're racing and overtake a competitor they don't start shouting abuse or have a fit - they simply congratulate you, or compliment you on your driving skills! There's never a bitter word said against you; even Snowbell is nice to you, which adds quite a lot of comedy. It's brilliant that Magenta Software would put so much time and effort into a game that's mainly aimed at the young ones - this is the best children's game money can buy, yet the game is pure fun for all the family. It is perhaps a little bit short, as there are only fifty pictures to take, but if you want to get 100% then you'll have to explore every nook and cranny, which is a pure delight to do; simply jump in your plane and fly around at leisure. If there's one mouse worth catching this Christmas, it's Stuart Little - just make sure that when you snap him up, it's not in a bacon-laden rat-trap!

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).