There are lots of high quality
platformer games on the Vita such as LittleBigPlanet and Tearaway and
there are also already some really great duos like Jak & Daxter
and Ratchet & Clank. These are all well loved, and in some cases
long running franchises. So for a new platformer it is always going
to be quite a challenge to stand out. So has indie developer
Jaywalkers Interactive done enough to get Kick & Fennick noticed?
The game begins with you, as a young
boy, waking up in what looks like some sort of cryogenics pod. You
wander around a ruined building and travel up and down in some fully
functioning elevators, which considering the state of the building is
some pretty hard wearing engineering. One of the first things you’ll
notice is that you don’t seem to have any ability to jump; yes, you
read that correctly, a platformer game where the main character can’t
jump, it’s definitely an interesting idea and sets it apart from
other platformers.
After a little bit of wandering
about you come across a rifle and a cute little flying robot. You
don’t get given much time to get acquainted before a huge robot
attacks, the robot looks a bit like the Enforcement Droid from
Robocop and acts like one as well. You fire the rifle at the
Enforcement Droid but the recoil blows you out of the room and into
the path of lasers. The little robot saves you but is left with a
damaged core and so the two of you set off on a journey across the
city to the Core Tower in search of a replacement.
The introduction leaves lots of
intriguing unanswered questions. Why did the cryogenic pod open? How
come you can fall from incredible heights and not die? Why are all
the buildings in ruins? And why are all these robots attacking you? I
also find it strange that at no point are you told which character is
Kick and which is Fennick (FYI Kick is the boy). Well neither Kick
nor Fennick offer up any explanations; Kick seems to be mute and
Fennick only occasionally bleeps at you.
This is a classic side scrolling
platformer but with a really interesting control system. You can’t
jump but you can use the rifle to propel yourself across distances or
to defend yourself against robots. You’re limited to just two shots
of the rifle before you have to touch down and reload so can’t just
fly around as you please though. You control the rifle by either
using the touchscreen or the right analog stick. Personally I found
it easier to switch between the two and use the touchscreen to jump
and the analog stick to fire at enemies. When you initially start
playing you’ll probably wish for the inclusion of a normal jump
button to get over small objects instead of accidentally shooting
yourself into the path of lasers but it doesn’t take too long to
get used to the controls and the game introduces you to new obstacles
gently.
Just because the game introduces
things to you gently doesn’t mean that it’s easy, the difficulty
ramps up over the course of the game. Bounce pads will probably be
the biggest cause of death among players as trying to judge the right
angles can be incredibly frustrating and sometimes I felt like I got
through levels more by luck than actual skill. At times the
difficulty can feel a little unbalanced, in some levels I died over
and over again only to find the next few levels a breeze to get
through.
It seems to be an unwritten rule
that every platformer game has to have a water section and Kick &
Fennick doesn’t disappoint. In some games water levels can be a
pain in the backside with sluggish controls and the ever present
threat of running out of oxygen. Thankfully Kick already knows how to
swim and you don’t have to worry about running out of oxygen as
Fennick wraps himself round your face like a little robotic Alien
facehugger. Although in this case there is no robotic chestburster
waiting to pop out, but if Jaywalker ever makes a sequel then maybe
that’ll be the surprise twist. The water sections in the game are
really fun, unlike on land you are not limited to just two shots of
the rifle so you can shoot as many times as you like to quickly blast
around obstacles and it feels really fast paced, almost like you’re
flying through the water. There are also a few levels where you’re
on high speed ramps and are literally flying through the air dodging
robots and lasers with lightning quick reflexes needed. This game
really is at its best in levels like this and it does get the
adrenaline pumping. There aren’t many of these levels which is a
shame but I suppose it’s good to leave us wanting more.
Screenshots don’t really give this
game justice. When you play you really do feel like a small child in
a massive city. The dramatic camera angles in certain sections show
this off to great effect. There are occasionally times where I feel
that the game gets a little bit too wrapped up in showing you a
beautiful camera angle of the skyline instead of what’s actually in
front of you but thankfully the camera angle is right more often than
it’s wrong.
The boss fights at the end of each
chapter are a great highlight and they do feel tense. The music and
background environments do a great job of setting the scene and
making you feel like you are fighting for your life. You have to use
all the tricks that you’ve learnt in previous levels to survive and
you will feel elated when you succeed. Again it’s a pity that there
aren’t a few more of these fights as each one is different and it’s
a good change from the normal levels.
In total there are 5 chapters and 45
levels to play through. This is only likely to take you around 6-8
hours but there are 50 little gears and 1 special gear to find in
every level so this helps to extend the playtime. There are also 3
difficulty levels to try your hand at. Hard really is quite
difficult, especially in the later levels as it removes the line
assist when aiming the rifle but completing it will leave you with a
great sense of pride.
Overall Kick & Fennick is quite
an impressive little game; you can clearly see that Jaywalkers Interactive has
put a lot of love into it. The music and graphics are definitely a
work of art and wouldn’t be out of place in a bigger budget title.
There are some really great moments like the boss fights and water
levels which make you feel like you’re flying high it’s just a
pity that the game doesn’t last a little bit longer. I’m really looking
forward to seeing what Jaywalkers Interactive do next.