I never
thought I’d be a fisherman. I eat fish, but the thought of catching it
everyday…it just didn’t seem like something I was supposed to do with my life,
not when hundreds of video games call my attention every year.
Now if you
had offered me the chance to guide fish into environmental crevices, release
them through tiny passageways and drop them into the safety of open water, my
view of view of this fishy career might have changed.
In
Downstream Panic!, an unusual puzzle game for PlayStation Portable, players are
tasked with having to protect the fish and deliver them to the sea. How they
wound up in danger in the first place, no one knows. They’re trapped in a large
bubble that floats above the world and releases them as soon as the player hits
start. And guess who’s waiting at the end of their journey? Hungry fish.
Enormous ones, the kind you’d capture to hang on your wall, not to grill, bake
or fry. (Darnit, now I’m getting hungry.)
There are
also smaller carnivorous fish hidden between the cracks of the air-suspended
environment that hangs between the bubble your fish drop from and the water your
fish must reach to survive (the same water guarded by large, food-deprived
fish). Is it me or does the concept of this game sound like it was born out of a
crazy dream/nightmare? Regardless of where it came from, the results are
unexpectedly exceptional. You can tell people about this game, explain its
content, features, etc., but they won’t know the beauty of its executions – and
moderate innovations – until playing it themselves.
Levels.
Oh the Levels.
The
aforementioned description is just the beginning. At first, only one fish-filled
bubble is there to release its contents. The first few environments are fairly
straightforward, featuring pieces that are conveniently angled in your favor
(that is, away from the deadly fish and lead into open water). But then the game
starts to introduce power-ups – handy environment-changing items that can expand
or reduce parts of the world. It isn’t much like Fracture, the upcoming
third-person action game for PS3 and Xbox 360, but the inspiration likely came
from the same source. Whatever that source is, I’m not sure. In all my wildest
game ideas, world deformation has not been one of them (until now of course).
If
Downstream Panic! sounds puzzling but not like a puzzler, that’s because it is
anything but traditional. It’s the way the developers designed each level that
makes this game a part of the puzzle genre. Before a level begins, players may
scroll up and down the environment to see what it looks like. Every stage is
different – no annoying rehashes can be found. That being the case, you’d be
wise to study the scene before diving in. Even then you have a good chance of
losing. This is not a cruel game; you can retry as much as you like. But you
will fall victim to the many traps that have been created.
Since fish
need water to breathe, the game cleverly uses environmental pockets (rounded
areas that have no gaps) to retain the water and fish as they drop from the
bubbles. If the pocket is completely sealed up, you’ll need a rocket power-up to
blast a hole, allowing the fish to fall through. The number of rockets provided
can be quite a challenge – you may think that three holes need to be made in
order to reach the goal, when in fact there are only two rockets to spare. That
means the developers have another solution in mind, one that you have yet to
discover.
Harpoons let you kill small enemy fish, but you won’t find any of those
power-ups in this stage.
Downstream
Panic! isn’t a timed puzzler. But if you take too long to release the fish from
a pocket or some other area, the pocket may start to overflow. If that happens,
they’ll either be pushed over the edge and into the mouths of those who are
hungry, or pushed into an area where a smaller – though equally deadly –
carnivore lurks.
If rockets
aren’t handy, then you’d better hope the stage has at least one seashell-shaped
faucet. Some are automated, releasing a small amount of water and fish every few
seconds. Others are manual, allowing the player to turn them on and release as
much as they desire. Both lead to additional, mind-boggling (but not
frustrating) puzzle elements that must be solved on-the-fly in order to keep
your fish from being devoured.
What if
there aren’t any rockets or faucets to speak of? Then you should have the
world-expanding power-up: a small seed that can be planted and grown into a
fish-blocking pillar. This pillar, though very small, is a key ingredient to
many of the levels. You will need to use it to redirect the fish while falling,
to increase the size of some pockets, and to completely block others. If there
is no clear way to exit a pocket, you know that’s one to avoid.
Now that’s genius.
Downstream
Panic! is a stellar, uncommon game with some of the best and most clever
challenges ever conceived. If you like puzzle games of any kind, you will be
engrossed by all that this title has to offer.
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Gameplay: 8.5
Unbelievably fun.
Even losing is fun (though not as fun as winning!). The environmental designs
and hard-to-beat challenges are a blast.
Graphics:
6.0
The visuals
aren’t mind-blowing, but the detail is high and the effects are fairly
efficient.
Sound: 6.0
Quirky,
occasionally decent, and somewhat childish.
Difficulty: Medium
A thinking man’s
game from start to finish.
Concept: 9.0
One of the most
original puzzle games in years.
Overall: 8.5
Originality
reigns supreme in this unusual masterpiece. A must-own for puzzle fans
everywhere.
