Review Thunder Paw

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Jump, shoot and dodge to reach the end of the level. Early on, Thunder Paw looks just like the other games in the growing raft of end-of-life Vita ports. And my usual moans apply, little design imagination, a lack of secrets, replay value or anything beyond the basic challenge to rescue Thunder's parents.

What Thunder Paw does offer is a troubling (as far as the pup's lives is concerned) recoil mechanic. Shooting requires an abundance of caution and persistence, to ensure he doesn't fall of the edge of a platform and often to his doom. That's especially vital in the later levels where endless pits are plentiful.



Gameplay aside, Thunder Paw has some basic but cute ear-wagging animation, otherwise we have an almost stock-art set of level maps, which are too dark and dull for the Vita. Generic nasties in the guise of pigs, cats, bears and monkeys take a few hits to kill, They drop gems that power up the gun, and there's the barest effort at some interesting weapons.

Across each level you have to kill all the baddies to reach the next one, so there's no point dodging them. There's also one not-really-hidden secret box per level to find that may need an extra jump or two. Some of the later bosses at least look like some effort was put into their design, with robots and flying craft, but the whole thing wraps up after only 20 short levels. And with infinite lives and a few restart points, you can crash though the levels pretty quickly.



Still, as another mild diversion, and as the developer builds up his skills - he has some interesting stuff in his tweets - support is vital, and we might also get his previous project Rabbit of Destiny which looks more fun!

Developer/Publisher Sergio Poverony/Ratalaika
Score 6/10
Price £3.99