Urban Space Squirrels is a platform/puzzle game where you must guide a super-powered squirrel to the end of each level. Will this game drive you nuts? Read on to find out.
The game comes complete with twenty levels split over four stages starting with Confinement then progressing on to Circuits, Heat Damage and the Observation Deck. The objective is simple, find your way to the end of each level by using your powers of bomb throwing which are manually exploded to activate switches that open doors or move platforms. You start with the ability to aim and throw one bomb at a time, as you progress you can collect more to throw multiple bombs. You can also use the bombs to gain extra height by jumping on them and exploding them at the right time to propel you further.
The level designs are well thought out and they start off fairly easy requiring standard platform gaming single jumps to reach new platforms. As you progress you will need to plan ahead to use multiple bombs to cover further jumping distances, and puzzle solving with bombs that must be placed near switches and exploded in sequence to open a door for example.
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Later levels and their accompanying puzzles can be quite tricky, good timing and bomb placement are required to ensure a platform reaches you before you explode a switch to open a door further above. Further into the game you will collect climbing gear which allows you to climb special walls which adds an extra dimension to the puzzles. You will be replaying some sections repeatedly as you get the timings and placements just right, it can lead to hair loss so be warned!
To add to the challenge you can collect ten pages scattered throughout each level. They are usually in hard to reach places and can require some extra thought to collect and stay alive. You can replay previously completed levels so you can always go back and collect them later. Checkpoints are available throughout the levels to save your progress, I felt they could have been a little closer together in some areas. It can be annoying when you have two puzzles one after another without a checkpoint and they both require good timing to pass, failure will restart you back at the previous checkpoint.
An optional tutorial stage is included which I recommend playing as it is done well and introduces you to the basics of the game. The graphics have a nice feel to them, while they appear to be basic in appearance, the minimalism style means less clutter on the screen and it focuses your attention to the task in hand (or should that be paw?). Each of the four stages have their own graphical themes, from the cold feeling Confinement, to the warmer feel of the Heat Damage stages. There are a few music tracks which are done fairly well, they are not too intrusive and are pleasant to listen to. Sound effects are minimal, which again works well, the sounds are used at the right times to indicate activated or deactivated switches for example.
Urban Space Squirrels costs 80 :MSPoints: and it is great value for money. The twenty levels may sound short but you will not be breezing through them any time soon. The optional page collection tasks provides some good lengthy replayability and anyone who collects them all deserves a medal! If you enjoy a challenging platform/puzzle game this comes highly recommended.
More information on the game as well as the trial and full versions of the game can be found on the Marketplace.
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