Death Jr.

"Shooting, Platforming, a Scythe, and C4 Hamsters, all wrapped up in one package!"

The PSP has really suffered this summer from a lack of games, I guess the same can be said for most consoles. But luckily, there has been a few bright spots here and there for gaming. Death Jr. for the PSP is one of them. It has received luke-warm reviews for the most part, but I don't think that it deserves them. While it does play similarly to Ratchet & Clank, you shouldn't expect it to be identical, especially since the PSP doesn't have a second analog nub to control the camera. Which isn't the games fault at all. Either way, let's take a closer look then, shall we?

GRAPHICS -

I simply love this games sense of style. It definitely has a Nightmare Before Christmas feel to it. While it doesn't have the best graphics that the PSP has to offer, it does a good enough job of showing off the quirky levels. The character models all look pretty well, the explosions are nice, and there's hardly any slowdown that I've noticed. There are occasionally walls that you can see through sometimes, when you're at the right angle that is.

8/10

CONTROLS -

There has been a lot of complaints about the camera, but I personally haven't had that much trouble with it. You push L quickly to center the camera behind you, and if you need to look in a specific direction, then you can hold L to enter first person view mode. You can shoot in that mode as well.

The square button makes you use your scythe to attack enemies or to smash things. The circle button makes you use your weapon that you have equipped. The X button makes you jump and if you press it again while in the air and hold it, you spin the scythe and it makes you go down slowly, which helps you jump platforms easier and make it to further platforms. The triangle button makes you dodge, which is very helpful against certain enemies.

The R button is a very useful button, it makes you lock onto enemies or objects that you can destroy, and it makes it so you can strafe. The directional pad changes what weapon you have equipped, you can either quickly cycle through them by pressing right or left, or you can press up which pauses the game and shows all the weapons you have so you can have time to strategize.

You will move around by using the analog nub, and while it's hard to move around slowly and aim precisely in first person mode, it does work quite well.

8/10

GAMEPLAY -

Like I've said before, it plays similarly to Ratchet & Clank, since you use weapons and a melee weapon. You can use the scythe to hit enemies that are in close vicinity, and you can use your guns if you want to keep your distance.

There are a total of 8 weapons to choose from, and each has it's own unique function. Your primary weapon is the Twin Pistols which you will likely use the most of, since you start the game with them and they have unlimited ammunition. The others are pretty self explanatory and all have limited ammo, but it won't be that much of a problem since there's ammo everywhere. The other weapons are: the Freeze Gun, the Shotgun, the Chain Gun, the Rocket Launcher, the Electric Gun, the Flamethrower, and the C4 Hamsters (like I said, self explanatory).

The game is basically 70% shooting and 30% platforming. You go through areas one at a time and if you kill enough enemies, you gain access to the next area. Not the most innovative idea in the world, but it works and I had a lot of fun with it.

There are a fair amount of bosses as well, and each have to be beaten in certain ways. The ways aren't all that creative, but are sometimes difficult to figure it out.

9/10

STORY -

It starts out as a typical school field trip for Death Jr. and his friends; Pandora, Stigmartha, The Seep, Smith and Weston, and last but definitely not least.......Dead Guppy. But, when they decide to sneak from the rest of the class, they find a box that contains the evil necromancer Moloch. Since they don't know what's in the box, Pandora wants to find out, but can't get it open. So DJ (as he's called by his friends and mom) decides to take it upon himself to open it with his scythe. That leads to Moloch breaking free. After he captures DJ's friends and starts infesting the museum and the neighborhood, DJ decides that he must stop Moloch before his power grows too big and DJ's father finds out. You know, since military school sucks.

I love this premise. I just wish they fleshed it out a bit more. There's a small cutscene here and there, but it's usually just the video clips of bosses. It does have it's progression though, and it has another larger cutscene at the end of the game as well. So at least there's something there other than the gameplay. I mean, you want to save DJ's friends and take that jerk Moloch down!

7/10

SOUND -

The music in this game fits it well and is actually pretty good. It's got that quirky feel to it that does a good job of accompanying the gameplay.

There's voice acting in the beginning cutscene and the ending cutscene. Any other dialogue in the game is presented in text boxes.

The sound effects are alright, maybe a few more sounds when you destroy certain things would have been nice though.

8/10

REPLAYABILITY -

The game doesn't take that long to beat, and there's no unlockables to speak of. You can however, try to upgrade all your weapons, try to get all the special items, and try to get great grades in all the levels.

The gameplay may be good enough to keep you playing afterwards though, because it is fun to play, I just wish there was something else that can keep you coming back for more.

5/10

OVERALL -

This game isn't perfect, it has its small flaws, but it definitely is fun. It's not saying all that much, but this is the best PSP game that was released this summer. So rent or buy? I'd say buy if you are interested in the style, but if you're iffy on the gameplay, then rent it first.

7.5/10

Rounded up: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/26/05