Game: Young Thor

Platform: : PSP, PSP Go, PS3 (minis digital download)

Publisher: Frima Studio

Developer: Frima Studio

ESRB: E

Genre: Sidescrolling platformer

Players: 1

What's Hot: Super cheap ($5), cute graphics; achievements

What's Not: Very few levels; artificially stretched out by grinding levels; repetitive; horrible jumping controls

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Review by: Toni Schwartz

At first, Young Thor sounds like another video game tie-in to the upcoming film. However, this has nothing in common with the Marvel character except for its Norse origins. The two Thors couldn’t look any more different. While the Marvel Thor resembles a really buff Jesus with flaxen hair (at least, the Ultimates version), the smaller Thor looks a little more like a gingered, freckled Montana Max from Tiny Toon Adventures. However, what they do have in common is that they kick a lot of ass using the power of thunder and their trusty hammer, Mjolnir.

In Young Thor, you play as the tiny titular character, whose goal is twofold. First, you must rescue the three captured Norns (similar to the three Fates in Greek mythology), then save the world tree Yggdrasil from the sinister goddess Hel and her minions. Along your journey you can collect cool gear and weapons (called “artifacts”) that improve your stats. For example, you can get upgraded versions of Mjolnir that hit harder, or a winged helmet that allows you to double jump.

The artwork in Young Thor is very cute and cartoony, like the PowerPuff Girls. Even the trolls look downright huggable. The artwork gives the appearance of a 3-D environment, but actually the game is a 2-D sidescroller. Controls aren’t bad except for the jumping mechanism, which can be frustrating. Even with the double jump helmet equipped, I need several tries to jump certain particularly high platforms.

There are only four levels in the game, with the first two set in Midgard (the world of men), the third set in Bifrost (the bridge joining Midgard and Asgard) and finally, Asgard (the gods’ home). This suggests that the game is incredibly short, until you discover that Thor can level up all the way to 99. How’s that possible? Through the magic of grinding, my friends.

You see, although there are only four levels, each level has about four or five “variations”. These variations per level are identical except for the types of enemies featured. One variation may be full of goblins while the next has spiders, and the third containing trolls. Furthermore, in some levels the mobs can suddenly get ridiculously hard, which means that you have to return to a lower level and grind a few levels first before proceeding. This gets really tedious.

In an attempt to break the monotony of grinding, some levels do have alternative routes you can take. For example, you can run underground and battle spiders in a cave, or scurry above ground and encounter trolls. However, this doesn’t cut it when you consider that you’d have to run certain variations umpteen times to level up a bit.

Considering that Young Thor is only $5, these issues may not be a big deal to some people. The variations are nice and short, just the right length for a quick game while you’re waiting at the airport or the doctor’s office. It’s a straightforward, classic sidescroller that anyone can pick up and start playing immediately. However, even the most undiscriminating gamer may grow bored from having to play the same four levels dozens of times.

Toni Schwartz is a regular contributor to GameShark and an Associate Editor at Gamertell .

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