POSTED 25/10/12


ARKEDO SERIES

Sanuk Games
PS3/PSN

Ah! Greetings! I am the Count! Look! Videogames! I will count them as they are reviewed...

Hey, this guy’s kinda creepy and ever-so lavenderistic, so we’re gonna humour him, m’kay?

Number one in this colle... ONE! One videogame! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Umm – OK, alright, uh-huh, oh yeah. Things in this triumvirational compendium of previously released stuff starts with Jump!, which mercifully has zero association with Van Halen. It’s old school platforminess, akin to what might result upon jabbity-plopping a Bamix into a bowlful of Pitfall, Jumpman and Manic Miner then letting rip. Almost trying too hard to ‘keep it real,’ once your lives run out in any of the find-the-bombs-and-dodge-the-baddies levels it’s right back to the start. Your patience may be tested...

The second gam... TWO! Two videogames! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Speaking of being tested... Next comes Swap!, our personal fave of the trinity. It takes inspirational snippets from most every game that’s ever featured coloured blocks – Tetris to Columns, Zoo Keeper to Bejeweled, Klax to Lumines - and somehow does its own thing. It’s hardly hard – we almost beat it first try - but it’s maddeningly addictive with the sliding and the colour matching and the explosions and the na-hey.

Finally, we get to number thre... THREE! Three videogames! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Oh for fuck’s sake! Words we also hurled at Pixel!, an 8-bit try-hard platformer that looks the part but plays a smidge wonkily. It throws back to your Wonder Boy, Super Mario Bros kinda vibe, but the catch is dropped. You are the weakest link. Goodbye!

A mixed bag, sure. But for around $2 per game, who’s whinging? One (Ah! Ah! Ah!) fab game, one (Ah! Ah! Ah!) decent ace game and one (Ah! Ah! Ah!) average one, plus trophies to omnomnomnom upon. Even if it only gives you a few hours of entertainment it’s heaps better value than a pumpkin. You can Count on that...

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