Though it may not have the visibility of a juggernaut like Skylanders, Invizimals is Sony's latest attempt at creating a kids' media monster. With a range of supporting toys, collectible stickers, and an upcoming TV series all set to try and catapult the invisible animals (ah, we see what they did there...) to stardom, while your kids may not have heard of the Invizimals at the moment, that may well change in the near future, as Sony clearly have big plans.
The main part of that push is in the form of games, with two Invizimals games launching alongside each other, one on each Sony format. The handheld PS Vita gets Invizimals: The Alliance, an unusual augmented reality game that lets you use your Vita to "catch" Invizimals while you're out and about (check back for a review of that one soon), while the PS3 gets the much more normal Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom, a mix of bad guy bashing and light puzzle solving, blended with hints of platforming and exploration action, all under the guise of saving the Invizimals world from the scourge of the invading 'Steels'.
The back story - which is scant at best - involves a number of coincidentally bizarre goings on. First off, the Invizimals, who are powerful, hybrid creatures from an alternate dimension, have started wandering through portals and into the mortal world, giving more than a few people a fright. At the same time, however, back in the creatures' own world, the titular Lost Kingdom is being invaded by strange mechanical creatures that attack anything in sight - the aforementioned 'Steels' - and it's up to fearless teen Hiro to get to the bottom of the mystery.
They may be the baddies, but there's no denying Steels have funny faces.
As soon as he leaps through a portal to Invizimal-dom, Hiro is confronted by his very first creature in the form of Ocelotl, a dreadlocked jaguar that looks like he's been hitting the gym hard. Giving very little insight into the source of the troubles in the Lost Kingdom, he doesn't seem fussed enough by the turmoil to join up with you, instead offering to 'share his power' - seeing as Hiro apparently had the ability to transform into other creatures and harness their own unique talents, Ben 10 style. Now with the ability to climb up vine-covered walls and equipped with a grappling hook for swinging across gaps like a feline version of Tarzan, he begins his adventure.
As you play through Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom, your stable of transformations grows, encompassing minotaurs capable of charging through breakable walls, a 'tigershark' whose forte is swimming, and an angry-looking panda warrior with the strength to shift the heaviest of obstacles. As is to be expected, using the correct ability at the correct time forms the backbone of the game's puzzles, whether it's chucking a huge cog into a machine as the panda or hurling shurikens at far off switches as the formidable fighter pig. Each Invizimal can also be upgraded, with new moves and attacks bought with Z-Sparks, the game's currency - which, much like the Lego game's studs, are found all over the shop; inside pots and chests, or simply as a trail, guiding you through each level.
Tigershark, who must surely be lining himself up for a cameo in the next SciFi Channel film...
Despite being a pretty decent platformer, Invizimals isn't without it's problems. In terms of technical issues, you do sometimes find the controls aren't as responsive as you'd like - we found that from time to time our character simply didn't jump when we pressed the button, or refused to attack momentarily. The old bugbear of a wonky camera rears its ugly head too, and without the option to pan the view around with the right analogue stick, you're often stuck trying to smash a box that's out of sight, or end up skipping over an obscured collectable or struggling to make a jump. Not really a technical issue, but we also found the concept of the locked 'vault' doors hidden in the levels somewhat strange too - each costs 100 Z-Sparks to open, yet inside you find nothing more than a handful of hostile robots and less sparks than you spent getting in, leaving us wondering what the point of the rooms is. Of course, none of these are particularly game breaking issues, and the title's target audience of youngsters are likely to not even notice - they're just little niggly problems that could have easily been ironed out.
All in all, Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom isn't a bad game - fans of previous instalments, the Lego games and Ben 10 tie-ins will likely appreciate it in particular, although will likely find that it rarely lives up to quality of the Lego Marvels, Batmans and the like. Truly, the tale is about as interesting as beige wallpaper, but its blend of exploring, platforming and puzzles, may find some merit in keeping the kiddies quiet between major releases.
Format Reviewed: Playstation 3
