Who's That Flying?! (PSP) - Review

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Note: Portions of this review, specifically those concerning the relatively unchanged gameplay and story, are taken from my previous review of Who’s That Flying?! for the PSN, which you can find here.

Who’s That Flying?! was a charming, affordable shoot-’em-up game that got high praise from us when we reviewed the initial PSN release. Now, Mediatonic has brought this comical little game to the PC through Steam. Was the transition from the PSN to Steam a flying success?

Earth is under attack from an alien race known as the Ravagers, and it is up to you, the protector of Earth, to keep them at bay and protect the planet. Your main attack is your beam weapon with infinite ammo, which can be upgraded to much larger, more destructive versions of itself. You can also grab enemies that come into contact with you and deliver finishing blows to larger foes. Unlike many games of this genre, your character is invincible, but you are still capable of losing. Each level has a limit of how many Ravagers can escape your grasp and attack the city. Let too many of these miscreants attack the city, and the level ends in failure.

Absurd humor is the name of the game in Who’s That Flying?! The main character is on trial for letting the Ravagers attack Earth, and he must prove his innocence, using the levels in the campaign as testimony. The humor throughout the story scenes is quick witted and will bring a chuckle (if not uproarious laughter) to all but the most serious players. 

The Campaign mode is not very long, as just a few hours will be enough to complete each level once. Who’s That Flying?! also has a Challenge mode, giving you specific objectives to complete, such as not allowing a single Ravager to escape. These challenges add difficulty to the game for those who breeze through the Campaign. If that’s not enough, Infinite mode will continuously throw Ravagers at you until you finally succumb to their might. The original game contained offline leaderboards, but Steam ups the ante by hosting its leaderboards online. With this addition, players can compare themselves to everyone all over the world to see who is the true king of Who’s That Flying?!

Graphically, Who’s That Flying?! is charming. The bright, animated graphics feel like they are straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon; a perfect pairing for the humorous cutscenes of Campaign mode. As the game was originally released as a PSN Mini, it’s not surprising that the graphics are not state-of-the-art, but the style is great and really accentuates the fun nature of the game.

As mentioned before, the campaign is short, clocking in at just a few hours. But if you’re a score-hungry kind of player who strives to best their previous mark, this game will last you a long time. In fact, Infinite mode is designed to do just that, letting you play through a level as long as you are able to survive. Steam achievements have been added to this port, providing even more challenges to complete. To get that much gameplay out of a game that will only cost you $5.99 is impressive.

Who’s That Flying?! slaps a coat of superhero paint on top of the shoot-‘em-up genre and makes the genre its own with tower defense elements and a hilarious story. Mediatonic handles the port of its inventive little game with flying colors, adding a new, fun, and inexpensive game to the Steam store.

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