E3 2009: Preview: Invizimals - Preview

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Invizimals is the second camera-based game that Sony was showing off at E3, this one for the Playstation Portable. When plugged into the PSP, the camera faces away from you, so that when the screen shows what the camera sees, it gives you the illusion of your PSP screen becoming a transparent scanner - a rather cool concept.

As with Eyepet, Invizimals interacts with a card laid on a flat surface (called the trap for this game). Pointing your PSP + camera at the trap will reveal the Invizimal on your screen, a Pokemon-like creature that stalks around the area of the trap. You can even put the trap in your open hand to make it appear as if you're holding the monster yourself. One neat feature they highlighted was the ability to print out new traps - including larger ones several yards wide that make the Invizimals appear to be ten feet tall.

You can have the Inivizimal battle others of its kind, or have multiplayer ad-hoc or online battles with your friends. Unlike Pokemon, combat in Invizimals is real-time, with similar mechanics to a 3D-fighter with health and stamina bars. Pulling off special attacks requires manipulating the real-world environment. You can create a blizzard by blowing onto the PSP, or an earthquake by shaking it. You can use the analog nub to draw a line on the playing surface for a fire spell. And making a real shadow over the playing field will call down virtual lightning.

The real-world interaction really comes into play when trying to capture new Invizimals. Your PSP then becomes a kind of radar that you carry around the house with you. It will detect the signal of a nearby Invizimal and go off when the camera spots the right conditions (lighting, time of day, surface color/shape/texture all affect it). Once your PSP-scanner has found an Invizimal, you lay down the trap and wait a few seconds for the creature to investigate. After you've got its attention, you perform a simple action to complete the capture, depending on which Invizimal you're trying to get - for some, you'll simply slap your hand down to shove it into the trap, while for others you'll pet or tickle it to try and charm it.

Once caught, you can trade your Invizimals with others, battle them for extra experience and stat boosts and make them grow and evolve, or take them into the main storyline. Like the rest of the game, the narrative kind of blurs the line between game and reality. The premise is that the PSP camera can see better than the human eye, and as a result of this invention someone at Sony Tokyo has discovered the existence of the Invizimals. You end up communicating with a Sony scientist at a research lab, who wants you to help him track down the Invizimals and capture them (for their own good) in order to prevent some evil group from stealing them to harness them for their energy as a weapon. The story uses recorded video of real actors to enhance the experience.

There seems to be a lot of potential with Invizimals. I'm not convinced it'll be a real Pokemon-killer in terms of sales success, but it does seem to offer a cool, unique experience by blending the video game world with some real world interaction. While Sony wouldn't confirm a price point, they did say that even when bundled with the camera, Invizimals should cost the same as a "premium" PSP game in Europe (no word on a US price or release date). The game (and the camera attachment) will also work with the new PSP Go.

Invizimals is on track for an end of 2009 release in Europe. To better understand what's going on in the game, check out the E3 trailer:

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