Exit (PSP)

[yankee lion]

The PSP has been hurting for quality game software since its launch last year. The whys and wherefores have been the subject of endless debate, but much of the problem is that Sony's portable has attracted the attention of developers who had previously disregarded the handheld market. Portable gaming is an entirely different creature than console gaming, and the tricks and techniques that have been honed to make spectacular PS2 games don't always work on PSP. It's just taking a while for longtime console developers to come to grips with the requirements of Sony's new baby.

There's good news, though: The learning curve seems to be nearing its end. At least, that's the case if Exit is any indication. Taito/Ubi's puzzle-platformer is a perfect fit for the PSP -- creative, stylish, and easily broken into the bite-sized chunks that work so well when gaming on the go. It's also a stellar game by its own merits.

On the surface, Exit looks like a modern-day reinterpretation of Taito's arcade classic Elevator Action; you control an athletic (but hardly superheroic) guy in a fedora and trench coat through a series of multistory buildings, making use of stairways and elevators to reach your objectives. But if Exit really was inspired by Elevator Action, the similarities end there; Exit isn't about secret agents gunning one another down and stealing classified documents. It's about a freelance rescue worker who finds himself compelled to save victims from disaster zones. Exit is a completely nonviolent game, and the pace is slow and methodical. Your goal is to shepherd trapped and sometimes wounded people of all shapes and sizes to safety.

What sets Exit apart from countless other puzzle games is the interactive nature of the rescues. The player can issue orders to the evacuees, allowing for some deviously clever puzzles. It's reminiscent of Blizzard's classic The Lost Vikings, except that you only have direct control over the hero. The capabilities of your companions vary from level to level -- a child can crawl through narrow spaces but won't be heavy enough to activate a weight-based switch. A heavy adult can push obstacles but needs the help of two normal-sized adults to climb barriers. Much of the challenge comes from working out the proper order to lead victims to the exits; send an evacuee to the exit too soon and you won't have any way to work past an obstacle that requires multiple characters.

Exit doesn't just play well, it looks incredible, too. The graphics are ultrastylized, with bold colors and heavy, comic-book-like black outlines. Everything is polygonal, but the viewpoint is strictly 2D, so the visuals are as consistently crisp as they are vibrant. There may be a better-looking game on PSP, but I've yet to see it.

The game consists of 100 stages, each with a 5 to 10 minute limit. You can jump freely to any stage up to the 70th, which dramatically reduces the likelihood of hitting a frustrating roadblock and getting stuck on a particularly tricky puzzle. Puzzles are arranged into groups of 10, each of which has its own theme: dark underground areas, a frozen hotel, an earthquake-stricken hospital packed with wounded patients in need of extra help. The challenges in each section escalate quickly but smoothly -- jumping straight ahead to the final level in a section can be overwhelming, but if you get there by playing through stage by stage, you'll find yourself properly equipped with the skills and experience needed to conquer each challenge.

If Exit has a single shortcoming, it's that the interface can feel sluggish. The wasp-waisted, coffee-quaffing hero moves at a leisurely pace, and once you commit to an action (climbing a ladder, descending stairs) you can't change your mind. Jumps can be tricky since you have to press the X button a good second before the hero actually gets around to making his leap. But this is no action game, and if you approach it as a test of your mental facilities rather than a twitch challenge, you'll have little trouble putting yourself into a suitable mindset.

It's a mindset worth adopting, because Exit is one of the best games to come along for PSP to date -- a must-have for anyone who enjoys beautiful, challenging puzzlers.

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Edited February 14, 2006 by Surrieall

[firen]

hopefully this is only the begining (of good games), i was thinking of getting this game actually..

[Kerm]

That's it, i'm selling my PSP.

[+Mystic MVC]

That's it, i'm selling my PSP.

Wait just a few more months: another megaman game, dbz, siphon filter, etc :D