PSP

Platypus

Platypus is fun while it lasts, and there's certainly no shortage of challenge if you opt for its hardest difficulty setting. For the asking price the game is very bare-bones, though, and the only incentive to play through the game again once you're done is to try for a higher score. There's nothing horribly wrong with Platypus, then, provided you can accept it for what it is--an unambitious, simplistic, and short-lived shoot-'em-up.

Platypus is the only original shooter currently available for the PSP in America, and one of two available in the world. Luckily for it, it is better then Sengoku Cannon. That, however, isn't saying a whole lot, and in the end nothing about Platypus stands out except for the fact that it's the best clay shooter ever by default. I think the publisher knew this, since I have yet to see an ad for it (there have been no magazine previews to my knowledge) and big stores don't carry it. I don't there ever being more then one pressing of this game so collectors, go pick it up after you've beaten the three Konami collections that recently came out. But don't get too excited, at the end of the day this is nothing more than a so-so shooter with a claymation gimmick.

Platypus from Mumbo Jumbo is as basic as you can get for a shooter. What makes Platypus stand out is the graphics that have been wrapped in an layer of clay, this brings out a unique charm and the quality that pushed me up from a 5 to 6. If you have a few extra bucks or want an easy going shooter, Platypus will surfice as a nice weekend distraction.

Platypus isn’t a bad game. It can be challenging and fun, but most gamers will be left wishing that the clay-based graphics were something beyond mere shallow gimmick. What could have been the modern equivalent to classic bizarre Japanese shooters like Parodius is instead a one-trick pony.