If you look back at all the reviews I have written in my fledlging career, you will notice a distinct pattern in the main reasons why I have given out some dire scores. Many of these have been due to good concept but no follow through, or that the game is just not very good, but mostly the failure to offer me something I have never experienced before is the difference between a 9 and a 10. Crush, developed by Kuju Entertainment, is a revolutionary title that takes the concepts of depth and space to new levels never seen in the gaming industry. By seamlessly switching between a 2D and 3D perspective, this title takes a simplistic platform puzzle and adds an element that has given new life to this genre.

The storyline takes you into the mind of Danny, whose insomnia has become too much, so not wanting to sit on a waiting list for the NHS, he visits a crazy scientist who agrees to find a cure for Danny, but you'll have to help him work for it by navigating through a series of puzzles, piecing together the reasons that he can't sleep.

The opening cut scenes lack something impressive and feel like they were added as a token gesture rather than a platform for the game to start on. The voices of the mad professor and the main character are also something of a cliché. The mad professor has that typical Russian madman accent, while our hero Danny has that comic book hero deep voice, but for such a surreal game style, these work quite well when woven into scrolling art stills.

The tutorial is compulsory, but essential for a game of this nature. The controls are surprisingly simple, with the analog stick allowing movement of the character and the directional buttons being reserved for movement of the camera. This is where the unique elements of this game come into play, as Danny's psyche is made up of floating platforms and navigation of these is only possible by using the left trigger to "Crush" between a 2D and 3D environment.

Crushing is the basis of the whole gameplay; Danny has the ability to stamp on a surface which causes the environment (and in particular the boxes you are standing on) to shift from a 2D to a 3D perspective, and back again. The trick is to learn to utilize this to rotate the camera view whilst in 3D mode and then crush into 2D to make gaps jumpable and high levels reachable. In 3D you have the depth of the environment, and the ability to move the camera around Danny, while 2D mode has a more structured view, with the camera becoming fixed, like an old-school platform game.

Within the gameplay itself, the graphics are not what we already know the PSP is capable of. Even simple landscapes look rushed and Andy's movement reminds me of games like Fade to Black, where the kinetics have been well looked at, but the actual makeup of the character could be a lot better. On top of a few further cosmetic issues, there are other downsides to this title that the impressive concept just can't make up for. Although it's a common issue with the PSP, the load times are increasingly frustrating and the game often pauses mid-play for unacceptable lengths of time, for example when you open the exit on each level, or release an enemy.

However, it would be wrong to write off Crush on the basis that the game hasn't been put together quite as well as it could have been. For developers such as Kuju, the resources just aren't there to compete with the largest games producers, so the way to still manage a bestseller is to simply create an addictive and unique gameplay style. Grand Theft Auto is the perfect example of this, when Rockstar took the world by storm with a 2D RPG, at a time when 3D titles were becoming a standard. The revenue from this addictive title has allowed Rockstar to become one of the most successful games developers worldwide. Kuju are not really going to achieve this with Crush, but it's certainly a brave title that provides some addictive gameplay, and there are noticeable qualities throughout.

By crushing at certain times, Andy can collect a variety of thoughts. Trophy thoughts, the most common of these, unlock special timed side puzzles, while other thoughts vary in their effect from increasing Andy's jump to stopping time entirely. Poor use of these and careless walking will cause Andy to wake up, but the consequences are minimal. The game won't allow you to crush or un-crush in areas where there are no platforms and falling into the abyss simply respawns you to the most recent checkpoint, of which there are many.

Crush is just a superb concept, to the point that, as a reviewer, I was very impressed that a team of people could even come up with the idea that led to this title. But being unique won't necessarily cause people to be queuing up to get their hands on this title; the follow through to the original idea just doesn't show itself at enough stages in the game. For a game that splits between two different dimensions, Crush ends up feeling a little one-dimensional. However, the concept is undeniably ingenious and it is my sincere hope that a sequel will emerge to take it to the next level and produce a true gaming classic.

Reviewed by Rob Byron for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).