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

Tweet

...Who’s That Flying?! It’s the new PSN Mini brought to us by Mediatonic, creators of the gamrReview 2010 PSP PSN Game of the Year, Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess! If you have ever imagined playing a scrolling shoot-‘em-up mixed with tower defense, courtroom drama, and humor, well, you are weird. But that is exactly what Mediatonic has provided for us in this Mini. 

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. All three modes have a scoring system that will prove addicting to those who want to hone their craft, grab the best score, and brag to their friends. Unfortunately, the leaderboards in the game do not connect online, so you will have to settle for being the best to play your particular copy of the game. 

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 a PSN Mini, it’s not surprising that the graphics are not state-of-the-art, yet the style is great and really accentuates the fun nature of this game.

As mentioned before, the game is short, just a few hours in length. 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 be just that, letting you play through a level as long as you are able to survive. To get that much gameplay out of a game that will only run you $5.99 is astounding.

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 proves once again that great games can be made in the PSN Mini line.

More Articles