GetDotted Domains

Viewing Thread:
"Kahoots (PSP Mini)"

The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.

This thread has been linked to the game 'Kahoots'.
Wed 24/02/10 at 16:22
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
Kahoots. it's not exactly a title that gives you any indication as to what the game is about. To some it may sound like some sort of unpleasant disease, to others, who think it is starts with a 'c' rather than a 'k', will think of a questionable collaboration or secret partnership. What we actually have here is a delightful little puzzle game which forms part of the PSP minis range.

Kahoots is similar in style to a flash game you may play for free over the internet so some may grudge having to pay for this, afterall the PSP does have a wi-fi connection but it is a little gem of a puzzle game and at the cheap price can you really complain? Of course, being a tight Scot who doesn't like to pay for games I can play for free on the internet I waited till this was down to £1.79 before taking the plunge.

The aim of the game is a little like Lemmings, you are charged with getting a little creature past some obstacles and safely to his home. You are in control of what the developers call a Kahoot. I would best describe a Kahoot as a mouse without the nose, who walks on his hind legs, has a tail which wraps right round the belly up to the shoulders and is blue in colour, you'll know the sort of creature I mean! As with Lemmings, our Kahoot just keeps walking so it is up to you to make sure the path he is on is safe.

The path your Kahoot will walk is littered with obstacles and you have to ensure the Kahoot gets safely past these obstacles. Each path is made of blocks and you swap the blocks about to make the path safe for your ever walking Kahoot. It is a simple concept which works exceptionally well with a good variety of blocks. Some blocks have spikes, these are to be avoided, some blocks have bolts through the and can't be moved, some blocks are made of trap doors which allow your Kahoot to fall to the platform below. If your Kahoot falls off the bottom of the screen then he will reappear at the equivalent entry point at the top of the screen which spices things up a little as you frantically move your cursor up to the top of the screen to find where your Kahoot has landed. Other boxes which will help or hinder you
include the all important jump block which launches your Kahoot and allows him to avoid the misfortune of a spike in the foot, boxes which send your Kahoot back in the opposite direction and cardboard boxes which cannot be moved at all but can be destroyed by the Kahoots' mortal enemy, the Cardborgs. It probably goes without saying
but the Cardborgs are cats which walk on their hind legs and have cardboard boxes on their heads. These creatures are to be avoided at all costs.

The Kahoot will automatically turn round and head back in the opposite direction when he reaches the end of a path. Cardborgs on the other hand will walk off the end of a platform so you have to watch out for some surprise attackes from above. For a Kahoot to get to another platform you will need to make use of the trap doors to go to the platform below or the jump blocks to go to the platform above although the Kahoot can only jump so high it make take a few manouvres to actually get to where you want to be.

Using the L shoulder button you can freeze the Kahoot and Cardborg(s). This allows you to survey your surroundings and plan your route, you can't howevr move the blocks when the level is frozen. Fortunately when you do move a block the Kahoot and Cardborg do freeze which means you can swap the block either creature is on and it will take effect when you place it. This is ideal for some last ditch attempt to avoid a sticky end for your Kahoot.

The Cardborgs are affected by the blocks in the same way as the Kahoots, with the exception of the cardboard boxes which the Cardborgs can destroy. With this little twist it means that some of the levels don't just involve avoiding the Cardborgs, you will have to use the Cardborgs to clear a path first for your Kahoot before you then start avoiding them. It is instinctive to want to get the Cardborgs onto a spike block which kills them but you have to make sure the Cardborg can't help you out first of all. It is a clever little twist and certainly adds an extra layer of complexity to proceedings.

On some levels you will find cannons. These cannons fire Kahoots and Cardborgs off in the direction the cannon is facing. It certainly makes getting to another platform easy but not when you find a Cardborg is flying in your direction.

As you will probably be gathering by now, it is not just a case of clearing a path, you will also have to keep the Kahoot walking back and forwards between a safe place while you use the Cardborgs to clear a path or keep the Cardborgs at bay while you move your Kahoot towards safety.

The levels in Kahoots themselves don't stretch past a screen and a half in any direction but whilst the house may seem close by, in reality it can be miles away. There can be a lot to consider in some of the levels and some require fast actions but at no point does it ever feel like a chore. There are 50 levels in total and if you wish to complete each level properly then you will have your Kahoot collect the cakes which exist on each level. The number of cakes varies per level, the simpler ones have a single cake but the more complex screens can have up to 3 cakes. Needless to say, getting the cakes is much tougher than getting to the house.

There is a replayability incentive with some awards to be one. The categories are fairly simple things like killing a certain numbr of Cardborgs, moving a certain number of blocks etc but it is good to see this in a PSP title, especially a Mini.

This is a bright and colourful game and you get the feeling a lot of TLC has gone into creating this from the imaginative characters to the little polaroid snaps that appear every 10 levels or so showing the Kahoot at various tourist spots such as the London Eye.

As with all good puzzle games, Kahoots is simple to play but ultimately challenging. Kahoots eases you in gently but soon you will find the levels becoming more complex, the solution becoming less visible and much head scratching will be done. It is an excellent addition to the Minis range and will keep you amused for more hours than a game at that price should.

8/10
Thu 25/02/10 at 18:12
Regular
"Poison meat for all"
Posts: 38
Good review.
Thu 25/02/10 at 10:55
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
Nice review.

I love this game, for under £3 it's a great bargain for PSP owners to take on the move too.
Wed 24/02/10 at 16:22
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
Kahoots. it's not exactly a title that gives you any indication as to what the game is about. To some it may sound like some sort of unpleasant disease, to others, who think it is starts with a 'c' rather than a 'k', will think of a questionable collaboration or secret partnership. What we actually have here is a delightful little puzzle game which forms part of the PSP minis range.

Kahoots is similar in style to a flash game you may play for free over the internet so some may grudge having to pay for this, afterall the PSP does have a wi-fi connection but it is a little gem of a puzzle game and at the cheap price can you really complain? Of course, being a tight Scot who doesn't like to pay for games I can play for free on the internet I waited till this was down to £1.79 before taking the plunge.

The aim of the game is a little like Lemmings, you are charged with getting a little creature past some obstacles and safely to his home. You are in control of what the developers call a Kahoot. I would best describe a Kahoot as a mouse without the nose, who walks on his hind legs, has a tail which wraps right round the belly up to the shoulders and is blue in colour, you'll know the sort of creature I mean! As with Lemmings, our Kahoot just keeps walking so it is up to you to make sure the path he is on is safe.

The path your Kahoot will walk is littered with obstacles and you have to ensure the Kahoot gets safely past these obstacles. Each path is made of blocks and you swap the blocks about to make the path safe for your ever walking Kahoot. It is a simple concept which works exceptionally well with a good variety of blocks. Some blocks have spikes, these are to be avoided, some blocks have bolts through the and can't be moved, some blocks are made of trap doors which allow your Kahoot to fall to the platform below. If your Kahoot falls off the bottom of the screen then he will reappear at the equivalent entry point at the top of the screen which spices things up a little as you frantically move your cursor up to the top of the screen to find where your Kahoot has landed. Other boxes which will help or hinder you
include the all important jump block which launches your Kahoot and allows him to avoid the misfortune of a spike in the foot, boxes which send your Kahoot back in the opposite direction and cardboard boxes which cannot be moved at all but can be destroyed by the Kahoots' mortal enemy, the Cardborgs. It probably goes without saying
but the Cardborgs are cats which walk on their hind legs and have cardboard boxes on their heads. These creatures are to be avoided at all costs.

The Kahoot will automatically turn round and head back in the opposite direction when he reaches the end of a path. Cardborgs on the other hand will walk off the end of a platform so you have to watch out for some surprise attackes from above. For a Kahoot to get to another platform you will need to make use of the trap doors to go to the platform below or the jump blocks to go to the platform above although the Kahoot can only jump so high it make take a few manouvres to actually get to where you want to be.

Using the L shoulder button you can freeze the Kahoot and Cardborg(s). This allows you to survey your surroundings and plan your route, you can't howevr move the blocks when the level is frozen. Fortunately when you do move a block the Kahoot and Cardborg do freeze which means you can swap the block either creature is on and it will take effect when you place it. This is ideal for some last ditch attempt to avoid a sticky end for your Kahoot.

The Cardborgs are affected by the blocks in the same way as the Kahoots, with the exception of the cardboard boxes which the Cardborgs can destroy. With this little twist it means that some of the levels don't just involve avoiding the Cardborgs, you will have to use the Cardborgs to clear a path first for your Kahoot before you then start avoiding them. It is instinctive to want to get the Cardborgs onto a spike block which kills them but you have to make sure the Cardborg can't help you out first of all. It is a clever little twist and certainly adds an extra layer of complexity to proceedings.

On some levels you will find cannons. These cannons fire Kahoots and Cardborgs off in the direction the cannon is facing. It certainly makes getting to another platform easy but not when you find a Cardborg is flying in your direction.

As you will probably be gathering by now, it is not just a case of clearing a path, you will also have to keep the Kahoot walking back and forwards between a safe place while you use the Cardborgs to clear a path or keep the Cardborgs at bay while you move your Kahoot towards safety.

The levels in Kahoots themselves don't stretch past a screen and a half in any direction but whilst the house may seem close by, in reality it can be miles away. There can be a lot to consider in some of the levels and some require fast actions but at no point does it ever feel like a chore. There are 50 levels in total and if you wish to complete each level properly then you will have your Kahoot collect the cakes which exist on each level. The number of cakes varies per level, the simpler ones have a single cake but the more complex screens can have up to 3 cakes. Needless to say, getting the cakes is much tougher than getting to the house.

There is a replayability incentive with some awards to be one. The categories are fairly simple things like killing a certain numbr of Cardborgs, moving a certain number of blocks etc but it is good to see this in a PSP title, especially a Mini.

This is a bright and colourful game and you get the feeling a lot of TLC has gone into creating this from the imaginative characters to the little polaroid snaps that appear every 10 levels or so showing the Kahoot at various tourist spots such as the London Eye.

As with all good puzzle games, Kahoots is simple to play but ultimately challenging. Kahoots eases you in gently but soon you will find the levels becoming more complex, the solution becoming less visible and much head scratching will be done. It is an excellent addition to the Minis range and will keep you amused for more hours than a game at that price should.

8/10

Freeola & GetDotted are rated 5 Stars

Check out some of our customer reviews below:

First Class!
I feel that your service on this occasion was absolutely first class - a model of excellence. After this, I hope to stay with Freeola for a long time!
Excellent support service!
I have always found the support staff to provide an excellent service on every occasion I've called.
Ben

View More Reviews

Need some help? Give us a call on 01376 55 60 60

Go to Support Centre
Feedback Close Feedback

It appears you are using an old browser, as such, some parts of the Freeola and Getdotted site will not work as intended. Using the latest version of your browser, or another browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera will provide a better, safer browsing experience for you.