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Media Lounge - "PSP Mini: Deflector Game Review" |
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 Dealspwn Rating: 5/10
Platforms: PSP (also PS3 compatible)
Developer: Gameshastra
Publisher: Gameshastra
Deflector is a basically designed yet challenging puzzle game, similar to some mini-games you may have played in bigger titles before. The aim is to deflect a laser beam into a receiver on a complex grid with you looking at it from above.
This is done by placing mirrors on the grid and rotating them to bounce the laser off in a new direction. Before setting the mirror in place you must make sure -via a dotted line that indicates the resulting path of the laser- that it will not hit any environmental objects that will end the game. These objects include apartments, trees, bombs and explosive barrels. Take a quick look at this video for an example of the early levels.
It's a simple premise that gets more difficult once multiple lasers get involved. Using triangular prisms along with mirrors, you can split one laser into two different colored lasers. This added difficulty means you really have to plan ahead by placing several mirrors out ahead to catch the new lasers.
Unfortunately this means a lot of guesswork and trial and error. You only have a small budget for mirrors and prisms, misplaced mirrors can be removed but you won't get the money back, so you may as well restart. Check out this video of a smart-arse nailing a typically mental level.
Once the game surrounds you with un-laserable property and starts asking you to use lasers to travel across holes and activate switches, it turns into a dull memory game of remembering where to place mirrors that did work and ones that don't. Hitting restart over and over for the smallest mistake does not make for a fun game.
Pros
- Three levels of difficulty will keep you going for a while
- Not awful early on
Cons
- Too many restarts
- Just not fun
- The Short Version: Looking after one laser was relatively fun, but as soon as the prisms get involved the game turns into a quagmire of trial and error and memory testing mundaneness.
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Media Lounge - "PSP Mini: Route 66 Game Review" |
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 Dealspwn Rating: 7/10
Platforms: PSP (also PS3 compatible)
Developer: Gameshastra
Publisher: Gameshastra
Forget all thoughts of motorbikes and possible cheap Road Rash thrills right now. This is a game that has more in common with the Where's Waldo books that everyone had in the 1990s, albeit considerably less congested. It's actually pretty damn good too.
Instead of looking for people, you use a cursor to find eight objects cleverly hidden on screen in a scene picture from one of the many locations along the eponymous Route 66. You scroll around the picture with the analogue stick and move a cursor with the d-pad, selecting items with X. The items can range from broccoli to Buddha's, hazelnuts to harmonicas and pinecones to peace signs. They're very specific too, so don't go thinking boot means shoe or anything like that.
They might be hidden against something similar in shape and col our to camouflage them. Or sometimes as a shadow, printed on the sky for example. Logic's just out the window; they could be anywhere and any col our.
While you only have to find eight objects, there are many others scattered around and the tick-list will change every time you play it, although the location of the items won't. There are 24 levels though, so it can remain a fresh experience for a while.
You are rated on each level for time taken, finding score, quick bonus and penalty (too many wrong guesses). There is a time limit for each level, but it's unlikely to trouble you. It's a shame there aren't any other modes. One where you have to find all the items in each level would have been ideal.
Once you get into the swing of it you'll hammer through it in an hour or two, but at least there's replay value added by looking for different items next time.
Pros:
- Addictive, yet relaxing gameplay
- Ideal for small bursts of gaming
- Replayability
Cons:
- Text between levels is dull
- £3.49 a little steep?
- Only one game mode
The Short Version: This type of game might be more familiar on the PC or as a puzzle book, but I found it to be one of the most entertaining PSP Minis I've played in ages. There's just something so compulsive about it, that's perfect for playing for a few minutes or trying to hammer through it all in one go. |
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