PSP World

Hot Pixel Review

Like the current obsession to turn almost every 'serious' title into a brain workout of some description there's also been something of a rush to produce a 'best selling' selection of mini-games. First seen of Nintendo's GBA the idea that a quick firing selection of 5 second games could be fun was soon embraced by other developers and here, at long last, the concept has made it's way to the PSP. Warioware, was an original and there's no denying that Nintendo are masters at this sort of thing but that not to say that the Sony crowd isn't ready to be tested. So... on your marks, get set, go....

When you first boot up Hot Pixel there's little in the way of available content and it's not until you start playing you can actually unlock anything. What is available though is both the Training and Episodes although the latter only has one section available 'Underground'. These Episodes (and their) titles are simply random games so do let the front ends fool you into thinking there's some order. Once you are in though there's little time to think and the games are fast and furious and if I where to explane just how to succede in Hot Pixel it wold the to observe, decipher and activate. What that means in plain english is simple really and the start of each game will generally give you a text clue. This, in conjunction with the on-screen visuals should allow you to take an educated guess at exactly what kind of interaction is needed and finally, you'll attempt it. If it happens to be the wrong one, you'll lose a life but don't worry you'll have another go later on.

The games themselves range from the incredibly simple such as shooting a pixel to a great deal more skill based and while the timer does actually speed along the bottom of the screen it does occasionally feel painfully slow. Once you've completed a handful of games it's off to the boss level which is simply a longer and more comlicated take on what you've already been doing success here opens all sorts of bonus items and, of course the next level but even with the ability to download extra games it all seems over far too quickly.

Visually the game mixed 8 bit visuals with photo realistic FMV but it really is down to personal preference wether you actually like this kind of thing or it gives you an instant headache. There's no denying the imagination at work here though and the design team have clearly implimented every visual idea they've had for the past few years which does make the whole thing appear very different from other titles on the market. The audio follows suit really and simply emptying the contents of a sound effects studio into a blender would achieve the same result as achieved here. that's not to say that that's a bad thin but again, be ready with those headache tables.

Had this been the first time we'd ever been treated to a collection of wacky mini-games then Hot Pixel would no doubt have impressed us a great deal more but in the end it's simply a rehash of an exsisting package so not only is it not as unique it's not nearly as well constructed. It's other problem is that it's all over much too fast and the 200 plus games are over in a matter of hours. There is the ability to download more and you can even play with your friends but it's not enough to keep coming back and once you've completed all the sections you are unlikely to pop the game in your PSP again. A good effort which doesn't quite hit the mark.