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jp's Mutant Mudds Deluxe (VITA)

[July 11, 2014 06:31:53 PM]

When I first started playing I was really excited and the more I play, the less excited I become. I didn't know anything about this game before downloading it (thanks PS Plus!) and installing it.

My initial impression was that this was a retro 80's style platformer. It felt quite traditional with the exception that you have a weapon and can shoot things: the mud-like enemies that populate the levels. Your goal is to get to the end of the level and there are stars you can collect along the way. Each level has exactly 100 stars. It's very straightforward and competent. By that I mean that the graphics are fine, the music is fine. Etc.

Every now and then you run there's a strange symbol drawn on the floor. It's not strange really, it's like an arrow. If you jump while standing there you get shot into the foreground or background. It looks REALLY cool - when in the background, the foreground elements are still there (but blurred) and they play in interesting ways with the elements in the background. There's some 'purposeful obfuscation' going on which is neat, and it feels quite clever. This is a game I should be playing on the 3DS (apparently there is such a version and it came out before the Vita one, so I can see where the design came from!)

So why less excited now?

There really isn't anything else to the game that I've found interesting so far... I collected enough stars to get an upgrade (a tougher weapon) - but it doesn't seem to have any effect whatsoever (other than changing the color of my bullets). There's also a shadow/ghost world (each level has an alternate) where your weapon doesn't work at all (unless you find a ghost weapon). But there I don't think there are any other special collectibles, hidden areas, etc. Well, I found an area with a doorway to a special place, but it was blocked. Perhaps I need to finish the game to make it through?

So, I'm increasingly disappointed because the game seems to stingy. There are plenty of levels, but they're not all that different from each other OR you have to play them in the same way. It's all quite linear and there isn't much to do... I'm not sure that I'll play that much longer...