Platypus Review

[247 News]

Palm247/WindowsMobile247

Platypus was created using a process called Claymation and it has been a big success around the world ever since.

The game is a sideways scrolling shooter reminiscent of the raft of arcade games that dominated the market in the 1980’s, and includes 20 levels that you must battle through to reach the final battle. There are bonuses on offer which transform your weapons and also extra points available for picking up floating fruit, it’s true!

Graphics and Animation

What can I say about the graphics and animation in Platypus, except that they offer a deep richness to the game play that is rarely seen in mobile gaming. The backgrounds are especially well done and with multiple layers give a genuine sense of movement and atmosphere that brings the aliens and ships to life. The Claymation effects have been recreated perfectly on the PDA and add a sense of fun to an otherwise standard scrolling shooter. In the same way that Lego Star Wars was ideal for children, Platypus works in a similar fashion with big splodges filling the screen when you destroy a large enemy. Even when you get killed, you don’t mind because of the way your ship blows up

It is hard to explain what makes the whole experience so enticing, but without doubt the visual effects used are a large part of it’s success. It makes you want to reach into your PDAs screen and touch the little characters in the game.

Sounds

The music in the background took me straight back to my teenage years, and is perfectly suited to this retro style shooter.  This is the first game in which I have not turned off the music, which is usually nothing more than a distraction in most games.

Game Play

Absolutely great fun!  That about sums up my experiences with Platypus over the first few days, and it has got better the more I play the game. The difficulty is well balanced and it is certainly not easy to pass level 8, which I am currently stuck on. I have played this game a lot, more than is healthy so far, and the battery on my TyTN II is suffering. The game does not drain the battery unduly, but the amount of time you will play this game will. It plays in landscape automatically on my TyTN and you do get the option of changing the orientation depending on your preference. I am right handed so prefer the controls on the left. You can also control the ship with the stylus, if you have a device with few buttons or a poor joystick so the majority of devices have been catered for.

A sideways scrolling shooter may sound like nothing new, but there have been many poor attempts made in this genre on smartphones and PDAs, and this is the best I have played to date. It is immersive, has good longevity and most importantly makes you want to keep coming back for more. I could go into great detail about the actual levels, but you will have to find out for yourselves. At times the play is frantic with volcanic rocks falling from the sky while you try to shoot enemies and catch bonuses- it really will test your reactions and skill.

Conclusion

I could use the old cliché of ‘this will stop me doing any work today!’ which is thrown at any good game, but it is sort of true with Platypus. I find myself wanting to pick up my smartphone and have just one more try, which then turns into 30 minutes of slidgy splodgy shooting and manoeuvring.

The basis is simple, but the effort involved in producing this title is obviously immense. This is the best Astraware title for a long, long time.

Available from http://www.astraware.com/platypus/?ref=pda247 for Palm OS and Windows Mobile (Standard and Professional) from Wednesday 16th April.

4:54 on 16/4/2008 by Shaun

[enrico]

When using the stylus, don't you cover the whole screen with your (right) hand? shouldn't there be an option to inverse the sides so this wouldn't be? going to download and check it out! Seems great (it was great on my PC!)

[Shaun McGill]

It's not available until tomorrow- just changed review. I use buttons to control the ship and these are better than using a stylus.

[enrico]

just coz mouse control is the way to go on the PC... That's right, stylus is probably awkward, always covering half the screen. I'm just unlucky because my TH55's buttons are becoming really bad (a sign that I should get a new device, isn't it?).

[Machster]

I was looking forward to trying this, but it does not seem to be compatible with the Tungsten T3. All I get is a blank screen with the music and if it is rotated it crashes my Palm. Perhaps it was released too quickly, before all the bugs were ironed out?

[Mike]

Or perhaps the T3 is just too old?