The Bottom Line
Pros
- Simple controls.
- Neat claymation-style graphics.
- Single- and two-player options.
Cons
- Very short.
- Somewhat repetetive.
Description
- ESRB rated E -- published by MumboJumbo -- Game Profile -- Screenshots
- Graphics: Fun and funky claymation-style. Nothing mind blowing, but its quirkiness is appealing.
- Sound: Very basic arcade-like sound effects and music. It won't win any awards, but its adequate and not distracting.
- Gameplay: Super-simple, pick-up-and-play. Three levels of difficulty and two play modes.
- Multiplayer: Play side-by-side with a friend in co-op story mode.
- Replay value: Once you've completed the game, fairly low. Unless you started at a lower difficulty and want to try hard.
- Recommendation: Might be better as a rental, unless you really love arcade shooters. Or claymation.
Guide Review - Platypus
Yes, I said old-timey. Though the game doesn't look like a low-res 80s arcade shooter, the gameplay has a similar feel. It's just about as simple as you can get, with limited movement and one button for shooting. That's it; you move your ship against the constantly right-to-left scrolling background, and you shoot at everything in sight.
So you might think that the combination of me sucking at Platypus and its super-simple control scheme would quickly result in boredom and tossing the game aside for something more exciting. Funnily enough, that didn't happen. I'd hit game over, and find myself immediately re-trying the level. Maybe I'm just stubborn, or maybe the very simplicity of this game makes it addictive. Whatever the case may be, I couldn't stop till I got to the end.
Well, not literally. I did stop fairly often, but I always ended up picking the game up again for another go. That's one of the strong points: that it's easy to pick up and put down. There are no complicated moves to remember between gaming sessions, and the game auto-saves, so you can start again at whichever level you left off on. If you know someone who used to go to the arcade back in the day but finds today's games too demanding, this is a game you could introduce them to. It doesn't look much like one of those old-timey shooters (it looks much better), but it plays like one, without all the quarters.
