User Rating: 6.5 | Fantavision PS2
Fantavision is a puzzle game in which you tasked with setting off fireworks. This is done by selecting 3 flares of the same color and detonating them. Bonus items allow you to chain different combinations of colors for extra points. These bonus items also allow you to gain more bonus points or set off a Starmine. These Starmines put you in a mode where flares are launched at a heightened pace and are mostly all the same color. You are given a small amount of time to capture the flares before they are “missed” and if you miss too many your power meter drains and the game will end. The game split off into different areas the you move around on a track and the area is cleared when you reach the end of the track. There isn’t really a story in this game, so the only motivation to keep playing is to see what each stage is like. Plus, after every other stage you are given a short video of some disturbingly happy kids that call each other over the phone. The graphics are pretty good for a puzzle game and showcases the abilities of the PS2 just as well as the other games that launched with the PS2. The background, although dull looking, keep you focused on the action and don’t get in the way at all. The launched flares are bright and easy to see until the later stages when there are so many flares onscreen that you just can’t see what is going on anymore. The controls are easy to learn, but the aiming line used to target flares can cross over unwanted flares and causes you to capture it. This can mess up a long combo and cause some missed flares. There is only one kind of two player mode where the winner is the one who detonates a set amount of flares is declared the winner. This mode has no real challenge and the winner is simply the one who can push the detonate button the fastest. The special power ups for this mode also don’t help the mode at all since the show up way to frequently and don’t last long enough to mess up your opponent. Overall the game gives a quick thrill, however you grow tired of it. Plus the children in the cut scenes tend to give me nightmares. I believe that the only reason this game was made was to be a tech demo for PS2 launch. As a puzzle game it offers no strategy and doesn’t even give a decent two player mode. The only thing it has going for it is that it tries to do something different than the other puzzle games that are just merely clones of Tetris.
