Kazook review (PSP)

Kazook a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, saying that Kazook is a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously is probably an understatement, because it doesn’t take itself seriously in the slightest.

And that’s good. In a sea of games that promote realism and perfect-pixel replicas of limbs and car doors, Kazook stands up and shouts in a sea of expletives – “I’m proud to be different!” Anyway, enough of the personification, I’ll get down to actually doing some reviewing.

Bizarre

You know what you’re getting from the very beginning with Kazook. From the bizarre introductory cutscene, to the random placement of what I can only describe as hamsters in polka dot boxer shorts, you’ll realise you’re getting something a bit different. From there you’ll naturally “Press Start” as instructed, and then you’ll follow the next most obvious link, “Solo”. Then it’s there you become a little lost.

It’s not that the headings “Survival”, “Practice” and “Party Superstar” are hard to understand, it’s just that there’s no explanation as to why you’d want to pick any of the options. Like the confrontation-avoider I am, I opted for “Practice” for my first go. From there you’ll be presented with a series of mini-games which actually comprise of the whole game. There’s no story fluff here guys, just pure, unadulterated, bizarre mini-game action.

Mini-fun?

Unfortunately, there’s no proper progression to the game either. It must have taken me about 45 minutes to realise that I’m actually meant to earn more money and go buy new mini-games. You don’t unlock anything in the traditional way of beating high scores or passing a level, you just have to go buy it. This method tends to make the whole game slightly uninspiring, because it doesn’t matter how well you play, it’s just how much money you earn. Even then, you can just save the game and go to the gambling mini-game at the very first opportunity to triple your money. The whole game is just flat in structure, and it’s possible to buy everything in the game from the very start, so long as you have the moolah to get it with.

There are many minigames at least, and not a single one of them is predictable. Unless you’re used to hitting baseballs at the ugliest party-goers- then I’ll retract that last statement. The minigames do vary greatly, but you still get the feeling that there should be something else for you to do. In a similar fashion to Rayman Raving Rabbids, minigames make up the whole game and you’ll feel somewhat short-changed when you realise that that’s all there is to it – a constant repetition of minigames.

Party Time

One place where Kazook does excel however is in its multiplayer support. While the minigames begin to grate after a while of playing them on your tod, they turn into endless sources of giggling when you’re playing them with your mates. In fact, the multiplayer very much reminds me of the fun I used to have playing Crash Bash, apart from here it’s on a much larger scale. So think Crash Bash, but bigger and your almost there with the multiplayer. It’s just perfect party-game, post-pub entertainment. It isn’t complicated, the buttons are explained to you on the loading screen, and the minigames are simple.

There’s that word again – simple. Yes, Kazook may not be at the pinnacle of pixel-based entertainment, and the fun might not last all that long, but similar to a very good rollercoaster ride, its fun while it lasts.

Cheap, cheerful and a good laugh, even if it does lack a little longevity.