Who knew flailing bugs over ledges could be so much fun?!

User Rating: 8.5 | 1000 Tiny Claws PSP
By Double_Wide | Review Date:
There isn't much to this game (then again it is a Mini). You play as a pirate who's gang releases an ancient curse upon taking a sword they find when looting a tomb. The curse being in the form of a swarm of resilient bugs that can only be taken down with the sword that binded them. So the gang of pirates avoid lynching by making a deal with the government to take out the very bugs they released. You pilot your airship (yes, airship) to 4 different islands that are overrun with the bugs in order to finally get to the queen that is causing all the mess. A typical level (4 on each island) intels 5 different waves of bugs you must kill in order to move on to the next wave and finally the next level. This is done by repeating slashing as many bugs as you can off the ledge of the floating island while not being knocked of by them yourself. You also build up a super move meter every time you slash a bug which once filled, allows you to fire off a charged shot within a highlighed area to take out as many bugs as possible.

Doesn't sound to complicated does it? It isn't...but that doesn't mean it doesn't get difficult. In addition to grossly out numbering you the further you proceed in the game, each island introduces a new type of bug (possessing a special power) and their giant verison within the mix of all other species already encountered. This ranges from fire breathing to electro-teleporting...still the basic version of the bugs just seem most powerful to me for some reason. To add insult to injury, you don't get any power ups yourself to counter this. In addition, each island's set of maps get a bit harder from the previous...more bugs, less space and weak platforms that can crumble beneath you leaving yet another gap for you to either get knocked off or knock the bugs off (its just a matter if you view the glass as half empty or half full...definately half empty for me at that part of the game). There are 3 boss battles in all which are pretty fun and unique to play. None of them are just simply "hack n' slash" the boss to death and require different strategies for each...none are overwhelmingly difficult though. Personally, I found the regular levels more difficult than any of the bosses.

My Breakdown:

What's Good:

- An excellent pick-up-and-play
- Simple but challenging
- Humorous dialouge during in-game sequences
- Nice cartoony visuals
- Great sound
- In-game achievements
- Multiple game modes

What's Not-So-Good:

- Not all island's have boss battles
- No power ups
- Voices instead of babble during the dialouges would have been nice

What's Bad

- Fighting other types of enemies besides just the bugs would've been great
- Other ways to kill your enemies beside just flailing them with a sword should have been provided too. Especially since we are using A GIANT SWORD here!

In all, 1000 Tiny Claws is an awesome time killer and packs a decent amount of content for a PS Mini. I definately recommend it to anyone looking to get the best out of what the Minis can offer.
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