Explodemon Review (PS3)

Explodemon! With a title like that, you’d be right to assume there’s going to be lots of explosions. Mix the explosions with a platform game, a dash of fake badly translated hero quotes, some puzzles and bad guys and the end result is a rather enjoyable video game from Curve Studios. The game begins with some nice 2D cut scenes explaining about the world being invaded. These are very well done, quite amusing and set up the little back story that the game actually needs.

So what is the story? The usual; your planet being invaded and it’s all doom and gloom. The twist is our hero is actually really not wanted. He’s been locked up for being unstable, and the council do not want his help. Well, they get it anyway!

Once you’re done enjoying the back story, you are thrown straight into the game. As you progress, there will be little ? type boxes. These are the hints to help show you Explodemon’s powers. They gradually build up the control system so as to not overwhelm you at the beginning. This is important, because you will definitely end up having to chain moves together to get to certain places in the game.

At the start you pretty much just explode your way around. However later you learn to slide, double jump, and how to kill the enemies. Once you get the hang of this, it’s really worth exploring the maps which hold lots of hidden, hard-to-reach areas full of bonus items.

While running around, you will come across little people standing in place. They are the citizens and generally have amusing comments or requests to make. It’s all related to the current area you are in, like the store room man asking for help cleaning up.

The levels are well thought out, and no matter were I went there was always some area I couldn’t seem to reach (although it must be possible!)

Graphically the game really does reflect the idea that it’s a modern day version of Mega Man. They are nice too look at, simplistic and cartoonish. Perfect for the type of game that Explodemon is. The sound is garish arcade noises, again blends well with the game. Neither are amazing, but nor do they hinder the game at all and help to ensure smooth game play.

All in all, I’d say Explodemon is a great game and well worth the money. It’s probably not a game I could spend hours upon hours playing, but the level lengths are perfectly designed for you to sit down and have a quick go when you have some time to kill.

Explodemon is out now on PSN, and well worth the £7.99 asking price.