Earlier this year an interesting game came out of Japan and seemed to be going down a storm. That game was Gomibako. I knew it wouldn’t ring any bells. However, you might well have (and should have) heard about a little PSN game called Trash Panic. This game is the aforementioned game with a (sorry for the pun) really rubbish title. The title aside, the game is really good. Why don’t you click that jump over there and see what I thought about it.As many have pointed out to me, Puzzle games seem to be relegated to the “casual” gamer nowadays and that the days when a “hardcore” gamer would play a puzzle game seriously have long gone. This game is out to change that. Like all games of this nature I think they appeal to both demographics. The simple mechanics and colourful art style definiely attract a more casual audience, but there’s more than enough for the hardcore here. The phrase “easy to learn, difficult to master” was something that certainly sprang to mind when I started playing this.

The concept of Gomibako Trash Panic is to try and get as much stuff inside a rubbish bin as you can without it overflowing. This can be achieved in a number of ways. For example, you could burn the stuff, crush it under the weight of stuff or just add water (and a little something else) and watch your well piled rubbish biodegrade. Sounds simple, right? Wrong.

This has to be one of the hardest games I have encountered on PSN. Sure, it looks simple and it sounds simple, but simple is one thing Trash Panic isn’t. Believe me, you’re going to get a lot of “bang for your buck” if you buy this, because it’ll take you ages to complete. I realise i’m going to get emails now with “oh I beat it in under an hour” e.t.c. in them, but i’d call B.S. on anyone who said that. It seems impossible.

Saying that a game is super hard is something that would put many a gamer off, but don’t dismiss this game before you’ve tried it. It might be on the more difficult side, but you’re going to have a ton of fun along the way. With six stages (and the credits) to play through, there’s a ton of trash compacting fun to be had here. The gameplay is quite simple really, move items around and drop them on others to break them or do some kind of damage. Try to imagine Tetris crossed with a scrap heap and you’ve got Trash Panic. Another great, old school style, game with an interesting twist. If you like classic puzzle games, then you’re sure to love this. That said, I think you’d find it hard to find someone who didn’t like this game. As your progress through the game, as you’d expect, the levels get harder and harder and your ECO or EGO rating certainly comes into play a lot more. The ECO and EGO ratings are based around what you do in the game. If you destroy enough stuff, you’ll be awarded with more ECO points. Destroying certain things or dropping items out of the bin will get you more EGO points (as well as a smattering of sponge balls). If you do buy this game and want to play it properly, I suggest reading the online manual. With no hint of a playable tutorial anywhere in this game, there’s going to have to be some required reading before you’ll be able to beat the later levels, and by later I mean level 2.

One of the best things about this game is it’s visuals. They’re super Japanese. Everything about them is great. They’re bright, quirky and just fun to look at. Something which certainly helps, especially if you get hooked. You would’nt want to be looking at crappy visuals all day would you? (once again excuse the pun). Populating these super-Japanese environments are characters who look not to disimilar to Patapon’s. These little guys will help sift through your garbage to find special items, such as cake or jewellery, which presumably must have been thrown out by mistake. Watch these, destroying them will add to the EGO rating. i just think that it’s a shame the game doesn’t push the PS3 in the visuals department. At over one gigabyte I sort of expected more from this. The game is a bigger download than WarHawk for Christ’s sake!

Unlike many of this type of game, I was surprised to find more than just one mode. In total there are four modes and the game includes online options as well as an “unliminted” mode, something which comes as standard in a game like this and something you’d need a death wish to play. One of the other cool features in this game is it’s YouTube support. Players can record up to 10 minute sessions and post them for the world to see, something I think more games should be implementing.

This game is certainly one of the most interesting downloadable games of the year and could be in the running for our “PSN GOTY”. However, it does have some problems. The load times here can be horrendous and the, seemingly thrown together, main menu doesn’t really tell you what you’re actually doing in any great detail. Something that classes as one of this game’s biggest failures. There’s a great game hidden here, it’s just shrouded by a number of faults that could’ve been easily remedied. All that’s needed is a makeover on the menu, a tutorial and better load times and this game is pretty close to perfect. It’s just a shame that a few problems are holding it back from reaching it’s true potential. It’s got everything there it just seems very Overwhelming, some would say that’s an understatement.

7.5/10

Secondary Comments – By Chris Malley

When I first booted this game up I was imediately besotted. It just had this thing about it that was so unique and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in. At first, I took it for the simplistic puzzler I thought it was, but when the going got tough I found it hard to keep playing. The game was killing me and I couldn’t bear reading that manual-tutorial hybrid. Like Anthony said, this game is too “busy”. A few changes and the game would’ve been one of my favorite PSN games, sadly there’s just a few things holding it back.

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