Puzzle games have always had a solid spot in a gamer’s collection. They have satisfied the more intellectual side of gaming because to be honest, non-stop action can get repetitive and boring. It’s nice to slow down and actually think about what is happening on the screen and not blow everything up. Alright, there are some times you need to blow things up in puzzle games but it is to solve a mind bending problem! One of the latest entries to the PSP puzzle genre is Frantix does it succeed as a fun game? Read on to find out.

Story
There is a short story that tries to tie the game together. You are trapped in a dream like world and the only way out is to push blocks, avoid hazards, and get the gems to unlock to door. The box says it is a puzzle adventure, although, it is hard to have an adventure without a story. There isn’t a whole lot to pull together a captivating story that everyone hasn’t heard before but then again, when have puzzle games been heavy in story?

There is a “story” but it is unrelated to the game. The 2002 Oscar winner for best short animation “The Chubbchubbs” is included on the UMD disc. You are able to watch it as many times as you want. As a bonus to the game, the character from that short film is an unlockable character to play. While it is a nice touch, it only begs the question why this was included in the game because it seems very disconnected to the game.

Sound
The sound is totally forgettable nothing catchy or pleasant to the ears. It is unfortunate because having a magical musical score would have enhanced the dream world and made it more engrossing.

Control
The characters are not free moving, they move on a grid. This makes controlling seem clumsy at first but it makes sense because the puzzles have a specific way of being completed. Still, having a more free flowing control of the character would have been ideal.

Graphics
Menus are nicely designed with very little clutter. You can hop right in the game with little wading through options. This style of menu is very refreshing because many games now days have lots of menus and submenus that only cut down on play time.

For being a dreamland, the graphics don’t have the luster that you would expect to have in a fantasy world. The zones are what everyone has come to expect when it come to diverse lands: forest, ice, and desert. For an added bonus, lava can be seen in all these lands. Small load time are a plus and the auto save feature makes it really easy to get back where you were before the last time you played.


Look, things to collect!

Gameplay
For being a puzzle game, the puzzles themselves are designed very well. They range from easy tutorial levels to head scratchers in no time. Don’t expect anything too overly difficult because you get well acquainted with all the obstacles early in the game. That is not to say it is easy, because that is certainly not the case. There are, in fact, many puzzles that will stump the best puzzle solver. To compensate for that, there are a few levels available at all times, providing you have enough gems, to try and then come back. In that respect, Frantix is forgiving.

While the puzzles are technically good, Frantix lacks that certain “spark” that sets it apart from the rest of the crowd. Yes, Frantix lacks fun. There are numerous reasons why that it. For one, there is only one game mode, just the single player. No multiplayer, no other ways to play, just the single player experience. Also, the lack of story hurts. It would have been fine to have no story but the lame two sentence “set-up” to Frantix is limiting. In addition, the worlds for each level are now laughably cliché to the video game world. It seems the art direction was uninspired on a total scale. Yes, there are a few nice touches but the overall presentation was simply lacking.

In Closing
I was able to find Frantix in the bargain bin at my local store. While being in the bargain bin isn’t a bad thing, I found out quickly why it made its way there. There were some cleaver puzzles in the game, I have to admit but nothing that I couldn’t find elsewhere. This game is nothing to recommend to anyone but those that are in love with all things puzzle. Shoving boxes back and forth is only so fun. Maybe give the game a rent or find it where I did, if you are still curious about the game.