Playstation Minis Review – 1000 Tiny Claws
Published By: Mediatronic, Developed By: Mediatronic, Genre: Action, Release Date: Oct 4, 2011, Rating: RP, Systems: Playstation Portable, Playstation 3 (Minis).
Presentation - Sky Pirates, a cursed sword and an apocalyptic giant cursed bug invasion. Sounds good doesn’t it? Maybe sounds a bit weird but 1000 Tiny Claws just might be the best Playstation Minis game i played this year. The bulk of 1000 Tiny Claws gameply rests in its great story campaign. The story is fleshed out and told by cutscenes and texts. There are unlocks that add more gameodes as you go along. The visuals are really catching. Good music and an easy to navigate interface presents the game with focus and clarity. The one complaint i must point out are the loading times between stages and stuttering during cutscenes.
Story – The story of 1000 Tiny Claws has to do with a group of legendary ragtag sky pirates. After accidentally setting off an apocalyptic bug invasion. They now have 24 hours to avoid being hanged for their accident. Captain Bluebell along with first mate Rana (main protagonist) set off to dangerous sky islands to battle swarms of giant cursed bugs in hopes of saving their necks, literally. Goodlooking animated cutscenes with voiced gibberish tells the story between chapters. The characters are fleshed out and have the pirate thing down pat. The story of 1000 Tiny Claws isn’t Shakespeare, but for a Minis game, its good enough.
Visuals – Vibrant describes the colorful sky pirate world of 1000 Tiny Claws. The graphics look between 16 and 32 bit featuring good texture and art work. The maps change in settings as you progress through the story campaign. There are dark islands set in jungles with skulls. Lush lighted islands that exude a paradise like atmosphere. The stylistic special attacks Rana pulls off feature decent effects for a Minis game.
Sound – Sound design is good just like most of 1000 Tiny Claws. The menu music is catchy. Musical tunes ranged from fast rock with mixed in pirate beats and urban beats featuring deep bass. The sound design in game while fighting was spot on showing no lag whatsoever. Most Psp to Playstation 3 Minis titles suffer from bad sound transfer. This game didn’t.
Gameplay – Gameplay features hack n slash while battling waves of bugs across various islands. The cursed sword Rana uses can do a special attack by pressing square (duel shock 3). You must fill the cursed sword gauge by killing enemies. Activating the special attack kills all bugs within a radius. You can tell which bugs will die as they are covered in a white haze.
Each island is distinct. Some are more difficult to knock bugs off and some are easy for you to fall off. There are many different types of bugs as well. You have big bugs and small bugs, bugs that can shoot fire and some that can do special spin attacks. Some bugs like the green bug carries apples that you can knock off which gives Rana energy. The only way Rana can die is if she gets knocked off a sky island which can happen especially when you get up into the higher levels.
The first boss fight in 1000 Tiny Claws was with a giant bug called El Torro. He is like a bull bug of some sorts. I had to knock boxes at El Torro to stun him. Next, you climb on him by pressing X and ride him into a wall of spikes. Rinse and repeat till his health gauge is gone. While you fight him there are bugs all over the screen that can knock you off the island. I particularily enjoyed that boss fight. When you complete a stage the menu shows your Final Score, Trophies and Medals. Each Chapter had five levels including a boss level. Each level has five waves of bugs to wipe out.
Replayability - The story campaign lasts over an hour on its own. Its a really good story campaign my opinion. As you progress through the entire story campaign your gonna unlock all of the other playable modes including Challenge and Survival modes. There is a Booty section to see all of your unlocks. 1000 Tiny Claws has good replay value mostly to do with it being a fun and addictive game to begin with.
Final Verdict – 1000 Tiny Claws is the best Minis game i played this year. The stellar story campaign was addicting and entertaining. The Challenge and Survival gamemodes adds great replay value. The overall presentaation from a story, visual and sound design standpoint makes this game a winner.
8.5/10
