Daxter Review (PSP)

Age Rating:

7+ (PEGI)

What is it?

A platformer starring Daxter a wise cracking orange ottsel.

Is it fun?

Yep.

Is it worth the money?

Yes, and since its been out for a while you can pick it up cheapy-cheap second hand (e.g. £14 from Computer Exchange)

Why?

In a nut shell, it’s fun, looks totally stunning, is well scripted and has lots of variety between levels. By variety I’m referring to the difference in graphics, layout and game play between levels. Interested? Well, let me tell you a little bit more….

When you look at it, Daxter is a very well executed 3d platform game. Collect x amount of items per level to unlock further levels and power-ups (increased energy bar, more powerful weapons) whilst blatting everything that moves. You’ve got your team communicating instructions to you via video link and there’s a mysterious bad guy to defeat at the end. It’s all there, but enclosed in a rather appealing and sexy looking package.

The main character, Daxter, is not only easy to control but has some great one liners too. I love his little quips after finishing every level and during all the cut scenes as well. Another nice touch is the many “dreams” Daxter experiences are all clever homages to well known blockbuster films e.g. Braveheart, The Matrix, Indiana Jones and Lord Of The Rings to name a few. All the dreams boil down to the same basic “twitch” game – hit the correct button at correct time x number of times to gain a power-up – but they are fun to play. Ok, so the Braveheart dream frazzled my brain whilst trying to complete it, but oh, was it satisfying when I finally did.

It’s not all platform action too. There are several flying levels to navigate, a bit of train surfing and a funky little moped action tossed in for good measure. And you know what? They don’t feel tacked on at all. Just like the rest of the game they are all fun to play. True, it’s not a taxing game with your infinite lives and the ability to save anywhere (essential feature of every PSP game, in my opinion). But it means you can have fun just playing the game.

If you missed this little gem when it was released last year, I would suggest tracking it down. I really enjoyed playing it, and I think you will too.

Links

Official Daxter Website – Quite swish.

Screenshots: