Earth has been invaded by a horde of doom beasts, and its guardian, the Guardian of Earth, has been summoned by the Intergalactic Council to explain how this could have happened on his watch. The council, made up of Guardians from around the solar system (including the Guardian of Uranus – joke intended), doesn’t appreciate the Guardian of Earth’s cockiness, nor his penchant for appearing on the front cover of magazines. Intergalactic prison appears to be the likely destination for our outlandish hero.

As is the case with Call of Duty: Black Ops, the story in Who’s That Flying is told using a frame narrative technique. The lead character in both these games gets interrogated and the information which they share make up the levels that you play – however, that’s about where the similarities between these two games end.

Basically, you live out the Guardian of Earth’s interpretation of events, where he defeats hundreds of doom beasts, some of which are massive, and you’re responsible for restoring his awesome reputation. The main story travels across five distinctive locations: New York, Tokyo, Mexico and Moscow… and somewhere completely different. Each location is broken down into three levels, the last level end with a boss fight.

Who’s That Flying is the latest game from Mediatonic, the guys behind Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess. After reading those initial paragraphs, it may surprise you to find out that this is a PlayStation mini. Yes, we have made the game sound big, but that’s because it is. It’s not the size of Uncharted 2, admittedly, but Mediatonic are certainly raising the bar for what we should be expecting from a mini.

Who’s That Flying has a complete story, told through some nicely animated cutscenes. They’re snappy, to the point (they have to be due to the size restrictions) and the focus is on humour. It’s mostly an immature, quirky kind of humour, with lots of posterior jokes, but it’s genuinely entertaining. The colourful cartoon/comic book presentation is very appealing to the eye as well.

The story is cleverly told in a way that gets maximum impact with minimum attention required from the gamer. Part of the way they do this is through the unlocks. As you progress through the game you’ll unlock artwork and newspaper clippings, and these will give you an insight into the characters and flesh out the story some more. Also, the name “Guardian of Earth” is more than just a generic superhero title: “It helps explain the core concept of the game right from the start”, says Jim Griffith, writer and producer on the game.

That’s all very well, but the most important thing about a mini (or any game, actually) is how it plays. Thankfully, guarding the Earth is every bit as fun as it should be. Who’s That Flying is part side-scrolling shooter and part tower defence. We know that sounds like an odd mixture; let us explain this a little further.

READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW AT PS3 ATTITUDE