KamiCrazy Review

Take one part Lemmings, add a dash of Enigmo, and sprinkle in a pinch of pitfall.  Mix them together and the result would likely end up looking a lot like KamiCrazy.

The story begins when the fearsome KamiCrazy soldiers crash land in the jungle, needing to get back to their ship to continue their warring ways, but before they can do that they will have to deal with the dangerous terrain and the locals first.

The game is controlled by flicking, pushing, nudging and swinging the soldiers to  safety. This is accomplished by maneuvering objects such as fans, springs, ropes and other objects left in the jungle by the locals.

Graphically KamiCrazy has a cartoon 2D side scrolling platform look with some animation tossed in. The characters are detailed if a bit too small which I will cover in more detail later.  There is no slowdown, glitches or other noticeable problems with the graphics that would hinder the enjoyment of the title.

The sound effects are pretty good as well. Sound such as fan motors, shooting darts and springs sound crisp and clear. There is also a  looping  music theme that plays in the background that can get annoying after the 100 time hearing it, we can hope for a few more themes in a future updates it would definitely be a welcome addition.

Gameplay is pretty simple as well. The first few levels serve as a tutorial teaching you finer points of controlling the Kami’s, but after that your left to your own ingenuity to figure out how to get the proper number of soldiers from the drop zone to the exit. Luckily you get more soldiers than needed on each level as you will lose some of these on accident and on purpose trying to complete the levels.

Each level begins with your characters dropping one by one from the entrance point and begin rushing around. Here is where I start to have problems with the game design.

For the most part you are given no opportunity to survey the surrounds prior to you men dropping in. This happens within 3 seconds of the level opening up and while most of the levels require you to move fans, trampolines or some other device in order to maneuver the Kami’s into a position so they can continue their journey there just isn’t enough time to plan out what needs to be moved and how to path your soldiers properly on the first, second, and sometimes third tries. This results in having to play the mission over multiple times in order to complete the mission. Allowing us to survey the level a few more seconds would have been a nice addition.

The second problem I have with the game is that the character are pretty small, and controlling them can be clumsy. One on one the Kami’s are easy to control. Simply flicking in the direction you wish the Kami to jump or swiping your finger left or right will change the direction of each Kami, but when grouped up I found myself jumping two or three soldiers right into death’s doorway any number of times. I should note that slower movements not fast flicks tend to help control this to a much more manageable level.

I also found the controls to be spotty. Sometimes acknowledging my movements while other times totally ignoring my commands, and while some of this can be attributed to my play style and fat fingers I do feel there is some room for tweaking the controls.

The Gameplay is fast and furious, decisions need to be made on the move quickly or you will be doomed to repeat the level again. Luckily the puzzles are your pretty straight forward turn off switch and hastily cross paths before the trap or arrows start firing again.  While other objects such as fans and springs need to be moved into a position prior to your Kami’s reaching  dangerous areas.

There is a lot of micro managing your soldiers as they never stop rushing. I would have liked to have the ability to double-click them and have them stop for a few seconds as it can sometimes be too much madness at the start of each level, but this is nit-picking as this is a action packed puzzle game and not a simulation game.

While the story  isn’t much to write home about, the level designs and sheer madness of it all make up for many of my perceived short comings, and with an update all of these could easily be fixed.

None of these complaints are deal breakers, but if your the type of gamer who can get easily frustrated or you are simply looking for a slower paced puzzle game you might want to skip this one.  However If your a fan of fast paced puzzle games, or love Lemmings, Enigmo or Pitfall type games you should definitely have a look at KamiCrazy. There is a free lite edition as well to get your feet wet and see if it’s right for you.

Positives:

1. Good level design.
2. Unique Platform and Puzzle mixture.
3. Ability to start from any level previously completed.

Negatives:

1. Inability to survey level prior to game start. [FIXED IN UPDATE]
2. Controls could use some tighting up. [FIXED IN UPDATE]
3. Characters hard to control when gathered up due to small sizes

The full game can be purchased here [BUY NOW] while a free Lite edition is available here [LITE EDITION].

[rating:8/10]

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Category: Games