topatoi follows the quest of a group of three adventurers whose ship crash lands in a distant, unknown land. After the crash, the leading lady is kidnapped by a vulture and it is up to you, with the help of a brainiac scientist, to rescue her. To achieve this, you are outfitted with a futuristic version of a common top, complete with high speed and jumping capabilities.

As you progress through the game, you unlock new abilities for your vehicle, such as double jump and higher speeds. You must keep track of your Gas level, since each action consumes a different amount. For example, increasing your speed and maintaining it will guzzle up more Gas, but help you move up steep ramps. Luckily, “gas bubbles” are littered across each level, so you will seldom run into any difficulties.

The main problem with topatoi comes from the iffy controls and frustrating mechanics. Jumps sometimes don’t land where you think they will, and the game may get on your nerves rather quickly, especially after the addition of the baddies. Conveniently on the land of the Great Tree, the “barbarians”, as they are referred to in the game, ride vehicles very similar to your own so the battles usually become twirling affairs to push off the baddies from the branches of the Great Tree.

Another downfall of the game comes from the lack of variety in environments. Being confined to the Great Tree means there will be no variation throughout the game, although some variety comes from the puzzles, which have you pressing buttons, jumping, and using the magnet in your ship, along with other tidbits, and this is probably the game’s greatest strength. The puzzles seemed varied and very smart, although not too hard, mind you.

Graphics look very polished for a PSN game, and the tranquility of the Tree is accentuated by the fine mist that usually surrounds it, as well as the sunny exterior, and relaxing music.

The trophies are almost all awarded for finding stars/cubes in the Great Tree/Bonus Levels respectively, but this is usually very easy, and if you are just a bit thorough you will find them with no problem. One trophy i thought was very clever was awarded after completing a level with more than 1000 fuel, as it pushed me to watch my actions and stay away from gas guzzling actions (how very eco-friendly of me).

All things considered, topatoi just didn’t click for me. Maybe it was the mechanics, or the lack of variety, or a combination of all of the above, but it just wasn’t fun. Something I found odd was the fact that there is no spoken dialog, just text boxes, but still your character is mute. The story is also shallow and seemed built around the mechanics of the game just to justify itself.

Something else you should consider before purchasing is the length of the game. The story mode can be completed very quickly, and the arcade levels you unlock won’t keep you hooked, although the free downloadable content may keep you playing for a while. There are also collectibles to find scattered throughout the story, but they are usually easy to find and won’t really present a challenge. All in all, the game delivers if you like the mechanics, but its downfalls overshadow the positive, I would recommend looking elsewhere for an enjoyable and gripping PSN experience.

Score: 50