Is it just me or is 1000 Tiny Claws a creepy name? It evokes horrible thoughts of dark places and thousands of little insect munching away at my tender flesh. Maybe I should have left that for the therapist…

The reality is that 1000 Tiny Claws is anything but creepy. It’s bright, colourful, charming and very easy on the eye.

But that’s not to say it doesn’t have a hidden mean streak. As is the case with Mediatonic’s previous minis, it starts very easy, so much so that you get cocky and start thinking crazy thoughts, like “This game is too easy for a hardcore gamer like me”. It soon gets hard though, very hard, and that arrogance quickly disappears only to be replaced by an inferiority complex. “Why dad? Why didn’t you prepare me for life?”, you may say…

We generally struggle to get excited about PlayStation minis, but we always have time for Mediatonic. Their previous games Monsters (probably) Stole My Princess and Who’s That Flying?! offered satisfying gameplay and a level of ambition that’s miles higher than anything else on the program.

They start by nailing the basics with a simple concept  - jumping, shooting and, in this case, whacking – before adding subtle layers of complexity. They slowly ram up the difficulty curve so you don’t notice it getting harder, and they add a splash of humour and colour to keep you entertained and happy.

In 1000 Tiny Claws, you play as Rana, a plucky sky pirate out to save the lives of her crew by clearing stages of infested floating islands. The crew are on trial for unleashing a swarm of deadly insects to the world, and to be fair, they seem to be guilty. It’s a quirky fun story told in a world that brings back memories of Skies of Arcadia.

READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW AT PS3 ATTITUDE