Rat Attack! Review

Mutant rats are on the loose, and only the Scratch Cats can stop them! Quick, pick a Scratch Cat, grab your eraticator, and get ready for one of the most generic games to ever grace the PlayStation!

You, as one of the Scratch Cats, must defend the game's levels from an endless stream of rats bent on destroying everything. You do this with your eraticator, an electric circle of energy that you use to lasso the rats. Once you've click-dragged (yes, you'll be using mouse skills to catch rats - go figure) your silly ring of light over a rat, you let go of the X button to catch the rat. But your captive won't count toward your number of caught rats until you step on the destructor, a small icon that sends all the rats you've caught to oblivion. Destroying more rats at once earns you more points, but if any enemy or trap hits you, you'll drop all the rats that haven't been destroyed yet. Also, you can pick from a few different cats, which vary in speed, strength, and eraticator power.

And so it goes, level after level. At the end of each area, you'll face a boss and move on to the next area, where the rats get a little more rambunctious. Some rats will be mutants with giant mouths that will attempt to eat you - but as long as you're quick with the eraticator and your swipe attack, nothing ever really poses a threat. The game also has a mode for up to four players, where the rats are of various colors, and you must catch rats of your color while preventing other players from capturing theirs.

The game runs at an ultra-smooth framerate, but that speed comes with a high price. The models and levels look absolutely horrible. It may run smooth, and in a higher resolution, but the characters are super-blocky, and the areas are dull, square areas. The entire experience feels like a slightly polished Yaroze game. The sound and music are also generic, offering upbeat cartoon-like themes to go with its cartoon-like cat vs. mouse theme.

Rat Attack is an extremely forgettable title that isn't worth a first look, let alone a second one. I can't think of one gaming audience that would find this game enjoyable. Even the multiplayer-crazed "party game" crowd won't find any nuggets of gaming goodness here. Do yourself a favor and just stay away.