Looks like I forgot to review
Monsters (probably) stole my Princess
It's a PSP/Ps3 "Mini" which means it's cheap, quick to play, tiny and looks great on the PSP and a bit poor on the PS3.
Most of the minis I've played so far haven't been up to much, but Monsters (probably) stole my Princess oozes with game play, character and fun.
It's a simple premise. You are
The Duke a cloak wearing dude that lives in a castle. You wake up one morning to find your Princess has been stolen. It was (probably) the monsters that live in your lands.
The actual game is just leaping up the screen from platform to platform chasing the escaping monster. When you get close, do a "double jump" into him, and you'll hurt him. Hit him three times and you'll do a finishing move.
It's very simple to play, but difficult to master. You get a multiplier for hitting platforms, but lose it if you hit the same platform twice. While it's easy to run through the game (I think there are five or six levels) quickly, trying to do it with high multipliers to win medals is very tough.
The graphics are endearing, the sound a brilliant mix of maniacal laughter and remixes of classical music (including a haunting techno version of Hall of the Mountain King). It's fast to play, exciting, challenging (when you try to beat the high scores) and just generally fantastically appealing.
It's quite a lot for a Mini game (I think it was a fiver), but the production values are exceptionally high for this type of game. It just manages to squeeze into the 100Mb limit required to be labelled a PSP/PS3 Mini - which also explains the lack of levels.
At face value, it's not very rewarding. You should be able to complete the single player game in 20 minutes at the most. Not good for five of our Earth pounds. However, it's the challenge mode that gives the game longevity. Playing to try and beat the high scores getting higher and higher multipliers - using advanced techniques like wall jumps and level drops to hit every platform (while still defeating the monster).
You can easily find yourself lost for an hour on a single level trying to beat the high score set to win an amusing "diary page" unlock - or just beat your own score.
Endearing, fun, challenging and well worth it! Better on the PSP than PS3, but worth a punt anyway
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYlHUH4Orlk[/youtube]
8/10