Kick & Fennick

1. brows76

   Feb 8, 2015

   9

   Really fun vita game with little to no hype behind it. Angry Birds meets Super Mario. I can't recommend it enough for a leisurely good timeReally fun vita game with little to no hype behind it. Angry Birds meets Super Mario. I can't recommend it enough for a leisurely good time with your Vita.… Expand

   • 4 of 4 users found this helpful
2. Vahagnmk

   Feb 7, 2015

   9

   It is strange that this game did not get much attention from gamers and critics. First of all it looks great for a handheld game. Although aIt is strange that this game did not get much attention from gamers and critics. First of all it looks great for a handheld game. Although a litttle repetitive the backgrounds are very bright and colorful. You control a little kid with a huge gun and by using the powerful recoil of the gun you make big leaps around. While in air you can aim again in slow motion and make a second jump. There;s not much more to the gameplay. However this core mechanic of jumping around is incredibly fun and addictive and the game makes as much use of it as it can by offering plenty of complicated platforming and puzzle sections. The game is divided into many short levels where you can just clear the level or clear the level by collecting all of the gear scattered around and earn perfect rating.… Expand

   • 3 of 3 users found this helpful
4. Fasty

   Sep 3, 2015

   8

   A game I didn't expect a lot from, but turned out to be extremely fun. A puzzle platformer similar to Bionic Commando in that there is no jumpA game I didn't expect a lot from, but turned out to be extremely fun. A puzzle platformer similar to Bionic Commando in that there is no jump button, the recoil mechanic takes a while to get used to but once you do it's an extremely satisfying and rewarding method of control, and a perfect fit for the Vita. One of the better looking games on the system too, with lovely antialiasing and consistently smooth framerate. The music, although used sparingly, is really great too. I'd almost call it a classic, except for some frustrating levels towards the end of the game involving bounce-pads, and random death bugs combined with bad checkpointing on some otherwise awesome auto-run levels. Still, despite these flaws I highly recommend this game!… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. psvitaroundup

   Feb 6, 2015

   8

   From PS Vita Roundup
   
   Ever had one of those days? Where you wake up, the house is carnage, all your friends have vanished, and there's noFrom PS Vita Roundup
   
   Ever had one of those days? Where you wake up, the house is carnage, all your friends have vanished, and there's no one else around but a burbling little flying robot with fox ears? Meet Kick (the kid) and Fennick (the foxbot), they are having that kind of experience.
   
   Kick and Fennick looks gorgeous from the off, in native resolution, with vibrant colours across all layers of the 3D background. Their adventures start out with a few timid steps in a futuristic city, exploring across a 2D plane, before Kick stumbles upon an energy weapon, just casually left lying around the place.
   
   Its purpose is two-fold. The laser side of it can knock out weak walls or blast the enemy bots, while the recoil allows him to take huge leaps around the scenery. That feature can be used to find plenty of hidden secrets and collectibles tucked away in the corners of each level, with some subtle 3D tilting and zooming to help show the way.
   
   It maybe gets a couple of minutes to get used to the jump mechanics, and questions of 'why can't he climb?' or shouts of 'just walk around the obstacle' soon fade away. There's also the handy kickback of the weapon to help crash through obstacles. In later levels, power-ups for the laser-bazooka give you some extra zing, but the special cogs you can find around each level become harder to track down.
   
   Their mission is to get Fennick a new battery, but surely there are battery shops in every high-tech future building like these? Still, off you trot through each level, heading to a tower in the core of the city. Your first encounter with an enemy happens to be a massive mechanoid happens a few levels in, but isn't really much of a battle.
   
   From the second set of levels onward, there are more regular baddies to zap, and more electro-pitfalls that would lead to your doom, if Fennick wasn't around to restore you to just before your last klutzy move. Get things wrong enough times and you do go back to the start of the level, but they're mostly short enough for this not to be a crisis. Fennick can also show you where to go, if you run into a dead end.
   
   Kick can survive pretty much any fall, and manoeuvre a little in mid-air to control his landing point. The double jump mechanic is essential to master, so spend some time practising it, using the slo-mo effect to land that second stage. You'll soon be double jumping under or over electric beams, making massive blind leaps and using magnets, bounce pads, teleporters to advance.
   A New Breed of Hero?
   
   It is hard to be critical of such a smooth game, that is so pure in what it does, with its steady progression of new tricks through the levels. Yet, there's remarkably little interaction between the duo. I suppose doing so would have risked having them labelled as a would-be Ratchet and Clank, or Jak and Daxter, but is that such a bad thing? Also, you find a Special Gear on each level, but rarely do they provide anything "special" beyond the odd costume change.
   
   If I was being picky, there's little reason to go back and search for that last missing cog, except for completeness' sake and the trophies I guess. But, there's nothing like the replayability of a Mario level, and little in the way of alternate routes. Also, across 45 levels, they are perhaps just a touch too similar in look and overall design to each other.
   That said, Kick and Fennick is a gorgeous, challenging puzzler that perhaps isn't quite ambitious in the gameplay stakes as it makes out through the superb graphics. Certainly a bigger, better, badder sequel would be something to behold (where's the speed run option?). And it proves that you don't have to be Naughty Dog or Nintendo to create a new generation of lovable gaming characters that could happily sit atop their own franchise.
   
   File size 824MB
   Not compatible with PlayStation TV
   Developer: Jaywalkers
   Genre: Platform adventure
   Players: 1
   Price: £7.99 (free on PS Plus in Feb)
   Score: 8/10… Expand

   • 6 of 6 users found this helpful
6. Alce42

   Aug 3, 2021

   7

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You have in one hand superb Gameplay and stunning, colorful graphics.
   On the other hand, you have 3 unknown characters to follow in a journey to nowhere. There is no story to be followed nor character development wich makes the game that less exciting to finish… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. TheQuietGamer

   Feb 13, 2015

   6

   It's a solid platformer, but it's not hard to notice that it lacks substance. The twist on traditional platforming that has you propelling theIt's a solid platformer, but it's not hard to notice that it lacks substance. The twist on traditional platforming that has you propelling the characters across the screen as opposed to jumping is quite unique and solidly implemented. However given that all the levels look and feel the same it gets repetitive fast. Like the entire game is just one big level, rather than a bunch of them that you progress through.
   
   The same obstacles are used throughout just with varying degrees of difficulty. It's a one trick pony that does have an interesting trick, but it won't take long to get tired of seeing it. I do think it stayed solid throughout though. I just wish there was a little more variety and some of the mechanics were a little more refined (how do you mess up jump pads?).
   
   There are also a few technical issues that get in the way. The most troublesome being that sometimes the next level just won't load, leaving the game stuck on a blank screen. It is easily fixed by just exiting out of the game and restarting it, but it's a pretty big flaw nonetheless.
   
   There are some issues that get in the way of an otherwise charming platformer. The repetition can lead to tedium and it's just not a game that can compete with the plethora of better options out there. It's charming (although not exactly graphically impressive) presentation and unique core mechanic do keep things at least mostly enjoyable, but it's flaws make it one that's not going to please everyone.
   
   My total score for the game is a 6.8/10.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful

See all 7 User Reviews