Invizimals Review

Novarama’s PSP Camera game is best described as Pokemon meets augmented reality.  Think manga-esque cutesy mutant animals with special powers battling it out in your living room and you pretty much have a fair assessment of what Invizimals is all about.

Invizimals comes bundled with a camera and a physical trap device, which is piece of cardboard paper with a square hole in the center. The camera is used to capture your surroundings and incorporate it in the game. The camera is mounted on top of your PSP and can be turned 180 degrees – you can face it towards you to take pictures or face it away from you while playing the game so that the room you are in gets captured within the game.

At the start of the game, you must seek out Invizimals who are hidden away in various parts of your room in different colored objects. The camera senses the variations in colors and if you find an object with the right color, the game tells you to place the trap over that colored object in order to trap the invizimals. Once you detect and set the trap for the Invizimal, you must complete a task to capture them – these tasks range from simply tapping a button to more interactive actions like whacking the Invizimal with your hand or tickling it till it gives in.

Invizimals fight it out in your room.

The game’s narrative is clearly aimed at younger gamers and if you’re under thirteen, you’ll probably love this game. The Pokemon-inspired gameplay can be quite addictive. You capture an Invizimal and use it to fight against other Invizimals. Your Invizimal can be leveled up by using it extensively in battle and winning fights.

Each Invizimal has four basic attacks. Two strong attacks and two weak attacks. The strong attacks take more stamina and you also lose stamina while defending against attacks as well. The key is to defend at the right time and finish your opponent without using all your stamina. If you’re left without any stamina, you cannot use defense and you’re left wide open to any enemy attacks.

What makes the game really interesting are the special interactive attacks you gain in the later levels. These interactive attacks include causing an earthquake onscreen by shaking the PSP or damaging the enemy’s Invizimal by using your hand to cast a shadow over it.

The graphics in the game are decent and fit in well with the theme. Invizimals takes a cutesy tone which will appeal to younger PSP gamers.  Keep in mind though that the camera only works with the regular PSP and not the PSP Go!

While the game is clearly aimed at Pokemon-loving younger gamers, it can prove to be quite exciting even if you’re not thirteen or don’t share a love for all things yellow and fuzzy. It’s worth checking out for the augmented reality factor alone.. This game doesn’t quite make our list of must haves for the year but we’ll give it top points for innovation.