Coming soon: Platypus

Though I really like playing games on my Palm (and even more so – collecting them for a rainy day…) few games really grip me in the first minutes I try them out. One of them has been Astraware's newest game, Platypus, which I thought I just peek at for a moment to get the basic idea, and found myself playing continuously for the better part of an hour.

Platypus, expected to be released later this week, is an import of the fantastic PC game by the same name developed by Squashy Software (that is, by Anthony Flack). This fast paced side scrolling shooter, is noteworthy especially for the technique used for its creation – stop motion animation with plasticine (i.e. clay) models. This gives the game a very unique look and feel which contributes to the great gameplay.

True to the side-scrolling genre the game is very simple to grasp – you shoot everything coming at you, while trying to avoid collision with enemy bombs, space-ships and other machinery and structure, and attempting to catch as many power-ups and bonus items as possible. The pure fun of the game comes from the brilliant clay graphics, great visual and sound effect, and diversity of landscapes, objects and obstacles you'll encounter in your effort to travel unharmed throughout the 4 elaborate worlds, each with its five mini-levels. And if you are anything like me (i.e. not really great at arcade games) then you will appreciate the option to choose the level of difficulty of the game.

Pure, solid (well, as solid as clay can be…) fun. Highly recommended.

Maya