Gamescom 2011: Joe Danger: The Movie Hands-On

Seeing Joe Danger: The Movie on the Gamescom show floor is a strange experience. On the one hand, tiny British indie developer Hello Games has been incredibly brave by positioning itself next to big hitters like Nintendo and Sega in one of the main halls. On the other, the company's messaging doesn't seem to be in place just yet; it doesn't even know what formats the game is going to be released on yet. Thankfully, the game itself is looking fantastic. It's polished, exciting and beautifully animated, and we can't wait to play the finished game.

So, what exactly is the deal with its release? Well, on the booth itself, the game is running on PC hardware and is playable with Xbox 360 control pads. But the original game was a PlayStation 3 exclusive, so it seems natural to expect the sequel to follow suit. However, talking to the developer, it's clear that talks are currently being held with the major platform holders, with the implication being that whoever decides to back the game will want it exclusively for a period of time. So, we'll just have to watch this space for now.

As for the game, though, we liked what we saw. The story setup is that stuntman Joe Danger is now back in favor in Hollywood and has been taken on by a new director to perform all the dangerous work on set. However, this director's idea of a good film is to just cram in as many action cliches as possible, so Joe is required to do a police bike chase, a ski chase, and a mine cart chase, in just three of the sections we got to play.

These sections were just as fun as the motorcycle racing in the original game. In the police chase, Joe had to move between the foreground and background to take out crooks while performing daring jumps. The ski chase was straight out of a James Bond movie, with Joe changing from skis to skidoos and avoiding grenades and other obstacles to make it down the hill alive. The mine cart chase was exactly as you'll remember from Indiana Jones, and you have to make Joe duck and jump under and over obstacles on the track. Thankfully, all of these sections are accompanied by the sort of music you'd expect to hear in the films--clearly, Hello Games is a big movie buff.

We also got to see a jetpack section on the booth, which the developer promises will be the most difficult vehicle in the game. It also said that there will be more vehicles in the finished game and that each level will keep things interesting, with a new gameplay mechanic introduced each time. We look forward to seeing more of Joe Danger, as well as finding out how we'll actually be playing it at home, soon.