Our friends at ICV2 have announced a new SMURFS game by Wikzids.

Before you smurf off the handle, please know that there is no mention of this being a HeroClix game. Like all good game companies, Wizkids is clearly trying to expand their library to go beyond just one game type.

According to ICV2,
At the New York Toy Fair WizKids showed off its The Smurfs: No Smurf Left Behind Collectible Game, which will be released in the late summer in conjunction with the debut of the 3-D Smurfs Movie, a live-action/CGI hybrid film that hits theaters on August 3rd.

A WizKids spokesperson described the game to ICv2 as a “chase game” that can be enjoyed by Smurfs fans of all ages.

That being said, we at HeroClix World applaud Wizkids for trying new things. As a matter of fact, as a new parent I'm pretty excited about this game all around. Games with grid maps (or hex maps) is just smurfy as far as I'm concerned. And there's more than enough Smurfs out there to justify this as a "collectible" game. If they stick with the single-figure blind booster model (which they're pushing on HeroClix), this would be very appealing at the cash register of game stores and non-game stores alike.

The main questions are, "how are the game mechanics" and "will the movie suck?". The Jonah Hex HeroClix set wasn't exactly a super-hot seller, and that might have to do with the poor reception of the movie.

Still though, I honestly believe a game with strong game mechanics can survive a bad movie tie in, and I have faith in Wizkids to deliver the goods on this new smurfy game. And don't forget, Neil Patrick Harris is in the new movie, so it already gets two smurfs up in my book.

Will you give this game a try?