Wispin Review

Wispin is the sort of game that tries to trick you with its cutey-pie graphics and doe-eyed main character into thinking it's some sort of simple children's game. Once you fire it up though you realize you're in for a challenging, fast-paced affair that will tax both your brain and your reflexes. The game delivers some quick-hitting fun, and only the overly loose controls keep it from being an absolute classic.

In order to succeed in Wispin you must take out colorful blob enemies by smashing into them with the main character. The trick is the blobs come in three different colors; hit them when your Wispin matches the color of the blob and you'll dispatch it, but run into it when you're a different hue and you'll take damage. The ability to change Wispin's color on the fly means that you'll be constantly shifting colors to clean up stages, so be ready to work those thumbs. Furthermore, players are rewarded for taking out multiple baddies of the same color in a row, so you may want to weave past some foes in order to snag that last blue or red enemy to keep your streak intact.

The game manages to up the ante by adding in varying enemy types and power-ups as you go. The enemies are especially fun to watch as each sort of forms himself up out of nothing using some cool animations. This is one of those games where it's easy to lose your focus because you're so busy admiring the surprisingly sharp and crisp visuals.

The only notable flaw in Wispin is the floaty controls that never seem to match up with the amount of precision needed. The game can be controlled either via tilt or onscreen joystiq, but neither is all that reliable. The major problem is that the enemies exist in a 3D space on a 2D plane, so positioning Wispin in just the right spot can be pretty tough. Furthermore, our hero moves around fairly quickly in the stage, so if you miss a foe it's easy to drift off course and either miss again coming back around or accidentally hit another enemy. Those expecting precision from the game are going to be sorely disappointed.

Aside from that complaint, Wispin is a fun, beautiful game that offers a good amount of entertainment. It's not a mind-blowing experience, but it is entertaining and very well-made. Just keep in mind that the blobs are only cute until they try and kill you with fire; then things start getting real.

[gallery size="thumbnail]