This PS Mini side-scrolling shooter offers action, wit and tower defence strategy.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane…
Who’s That Flying?! is a PS Mini title which sees you take on the role of the Guardian of Earth, defending the planet from invaders. The story focuses on a flashback format, where you are on trial for letting the invasion happen and the levels are the memories of the event.
While it’s not too heavy on plot, the game’s script is pretty fun and light-hearted, making it incredibly likeable. It’s no coincidence that the acronym of the game is “WTF?!”It was developed by Mediatonic, which created titles such as Monsters (Probably) Stole my Princess, so it’s expected that this game has a similar humourous tone.
The simplistic, graphical look of the game works great, particularly for the type of game it is. In-game characters are well animated and even when there are piles of invaders on screen, it doesn’t look muddled.
Game play
The game combines side-scrolling shooting action with tower defence. While your character is completely invincible from attacks, the city isn’t.
As a result, you must prevent a fixed number of enemies from getting passed you or else the city is destroyed and it’s game over.
The only enemies who can pass you are the smaller ones (Ravagers) with the bigger ones firing attacks that slow you down as opposed to hurting you.
This means there’s an element of strategy involved – take out the big ones first for less hassle or ignore them and go after the Ravagers which could damage the city?
On a whole, I found that this game was very accessible yet very fast paced. The controls are simple enough to get the hang of quickly, but the sheer quantity of enemies flying at you, not to mention the different patterns in which they move, means you’ll be kept on your toes at all times.
It’s not as difficult as a lot of the more hardcore side-scrolling shooters out there, but for its audience and its tone, it’s better for it. Its easy pick-up-and-playability is great for blowing off steam after a stressful day and it’s immersive enough to keep you playing.
Modes
Story mode offers five stages with three levels each. And when you’ve mastered this, challenge mode is unlocked, offering 24 new tasks for gamers who want to test their merit further, such as beating a boss under a specific time or not missing a single Ravager throughout a stage.
There’s also Infinite Mode, where you keep going for as long as you can to stop Ravagers from getting through to earn high scores. It’s a great option for those who want to push themselves even further.
As it’s a PS Mini title, it’s not exactly a 60-hour long epic, but there is a lot of meat in it, considering the sort of game that it is and seeing as it costs €4.99 These modes offer a lot, whether you want to hone your skills or if you simply want to blast through bad guys for a while.
Overall
Who’s That Flying?! is a highly accessible and fun side-scrolling shooter. It has charm by the bucket load and offers a good variety of different modes to keep players coming back for more.
Who’s That Flying?! is available for download from the PlayStation Store for PSP and PS3 consoles and costs €4.99.
