Review: 1000 Tiny Claws

Posted by Ben on October 23rd, 2011 | 1 Comment | Tags: 1000 Tiny Claws

There’s something to be said for simplicity. Without it, we’d forever be bogged down in status screens, trawling through nested menus upon menus in search of fun. 1000 Tiny Claws wastes no time in getting to the point, and sets out to do one thing, and one thing alone. The mindless slaughter of thousands of little evil critters. At least you can’t fault it for being overambitious.

Playing as Rana, the first mate of a pirate crew that managed to set off an evil curse, you’re going to have to battle through hordes of monsters in order to reverse the damage you’ve done. The story is told through entertaining little cut-scenes that set the jovial mood well. The character expressions are great and the dialogue, spoken through that warbling we hear so often in games, is delivered with enough emotion to make the story actually entertaining to sit through, and not just some filler. The game looks great in motion too, with great animations for your character’s moves, and a killer soundtrack filled with sea shanties and pirate rock. That is actually a genre, by the way. I checked.

Of course, all the fancy 2D art in the world wouldn’t be enough if the gameplay weren’t up to snuff, and I’m happy to report that 1000 Tiny Claws is pure slice of mindless fun. Slicing through hordes of bad guys is entertaining enough, and there’s just enough variation in the attacks you can pull off to make covering your own back simple and easy. There’s a special metre on the side of the screen, which will fill up gradually as you send foes flying over the edge. Once full, you can unleash a devastating area of effect attack that will have your enemies scrambling for cover. Just don’t use it too quickly, or you’ll find yourself overwhelmed later on in that same level. I do wish there was a second attack button with some quicker attacks though, as the animations, while great, are a bit slow at times. A sword swing while an enemy nibbles at your leg isn’t very useful at all really. Also, the game gets hard. It’s not afraid to rush at you from all sides whilst you run away screaming, and I love it for that. But if you’re not in the mood for a challenge, I recommend staying away.

Nonetheless, 1000 Tiny Claws is a great slice of pure actioning fun. It’s fast, frenetic and a great slice of gaming comfort food. It won’t do anything more than you expect it to, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need from a game.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here. This review is for the PlayStation Portable version of the game.