Hands up how many people actually own a copy of the first Exit? Well, shame on you! Despite being released early in the PSP's life cycle and despite the PSP being oft derided for its lack of original series, and despite the well above average review scores, Exit never sold as many copies as it deserved to - particularly in the UK. Gamers have no reason to grumble about the glut of ports and hand-me-downs now though, as developers Taito and publisher 505 Games are offering a chance at redemption by releasing a follow-up to the original Exit, cunningly entitled Exit 2.

The game's Japanese name Kangaeru Exit (or Thinking Exit when translated into English) better sums up the difference between the two games - the latter is focused more on solving puzzles rather than the action and platforming of the former. That's not to say the first game was all rush 'n' tumble and this one is as action-oriented as a sedative though - in fact, there are many similarities in this sequel, it's just that it focuses more on the puzzle side of things this time out.

Playing once again as Mr. ESC, a professional escape artist with a serious addiction to coffee and a double helping of style, you must traverse the 100 levels, making your way to the exit while rescuing trapped people and animals en route. Often you will need to enlist the help of these companions in order to solve some of the trickier puzzles that confront you. With a little bit of forethought, planning and exploration, it becomes relatively easy to work out how to escape - but it becomes exceedingly difficult to actually do so with all your companions in tow, and in the shortest time possible, in order to achieve a perfect score. Despite being played on a flat 2D plane, the graphics have depth thanks to being rendered in 3D, with Mr. ESC and his similarly silhouetted companions being reminiscent of Chinese tangrams, all moving with a Prince of Persia level of fluidity and panache.

Not only that, but Mr. ESC himself is fairly nimble. He can run, jump gaps, hang, drop, crawl...in fact, practically the only things he can't do is push large boxes, crawl through small passages and climb up ropes. For that, he can call upon his companions, who now exist in a wider variety than before. Young adults can do almost everything that Mr. ESC can, except swim. Larger adults are slow and heavy and cannot jump very well, although they are powerful and so they can push heavy boxes. Macho adults can climb up ropes and haul large adults on top of boxes all by themselves. Children can climb through small gaps but cannot swim, whilst dogs can jump long distances, swim and pick up objects, but cannot use them. There are also injured companions, who cannot do anything useful other than be dropped on switches and thus must be carried around the level. All in all, there's a well-rounded bunch of characters with a decent distribution of abilities, but they all need to be rescued first by finding and touching them before they join up with you and follow you around.

The levels themselves wouldn't be very puzzling if there wasn't anything to prevent you from finding your way out, and thus there's a host of obstacles that block your path - large gaps, fire, water, doors, drops and icicles, to name but a few. Each can be negotiated or avoided through judicious use of your companions and the items on offer throughout the level. Pressing or treading on switches sets off fire sprinklers, activates elevators or opens doors. Picking up keys, ropes or pickaxes enables you to use these items at the appropriate time to knock down icicles or crumbling walls. Even the fourth wall is neatly broken when Mr. ESC shrugs at the camera, should you try to use an item at the wrong time.

Only one item can be carried at a time and so there are instances when you must direct your companions to pick up the slack and carry objects and injured parties. You can also take objects from them, should you be standing close enough; however, in certain circumstances it is advantageous to let them use the objects themselves. They can only follow simple instructions though, and their stupidity will sometimes make you wish you could leave them behind, give up and head for the exit without them! Whilst your companions do not do anything to put themselves in obvious danger, asking them - for instance - to do something on a different floor than the one they are currently on seemingly perplexes them every time, even if the escalator is only a few meters away. It's no wonder they are in difficulty and require Mr. ESC's assistance!

These problems are only exacerbated by the clunky controls, which leave a little to be desired. The d-pad moves Mr. ESC directly, with the right shoulder button causing him to run. Moving the analogue stick displays a pointer with which you can look around the level (for a short distance from Mr. ESC) as well as allowing you to direct your companions. Clicking on them with triangle button and then clicking on where you want them to go is typically all that is required to get them to move. Clicking on an object causes them to use or push it and holding the triangle button causes them to continually push something as far as they can. The right shoulder button speeds up the pointer movement, whilst pressing the triangle button at the same time cycles through your companions. The combination of going backwards and forwards between d-pad and analogue nub whilst holding the right shoulder button and pressing and holding triangle requires a feat of nimbleness and dexterity to rival Mr. ESC himself!

Keeping an eye on the time is all-important, as each action that's performed eats up a precious few seconds. You can run, which is obviously faster than walking, but stopping takes a little longer. Climbing ladders or ropes delays Mr. ESC, as he positions himself first; the same goes for heading up and down stairs or escalators. Hauling himself onto blocks or hanging down before dropping also takes time. Unlike your typical fast-paced platformer, each action cannot be interrupted and thus you must wait for the animation to finish before you can carry on. For the perfectionists, achieving top marks is very much a case of getting everything exactly right through trial, error and several plays through, until the level becomes instinctive. For the rest of us though, simply completing the level with a reasonable score is enough of a victory.

All of which leads to another minor quibble with the game - the repetition required should you make a mistake. With a distinctive and fresh visual style, replay is often not a problem, but even if you are not trying to achieve a perfect score, some of the puzzles are difficult and complex. Whilst the time limit is generous, it is possible to become stuck and impossible to complete a level without a restart. Should you be nearing the end of a level, only to make such a mistake, you thus have to replay the whole level again, thanks to the lack of any checkpoints. Another problem along a similar vein occurs with the audio, which, although fine in short chunks, repeats too much and soon begins to grate. None more so then when one of your companions continually cries out for help. At times like this you almost wish that 'strangle' was an action Mr. ESC could also perform!

At the end of the day though, we should be thankful that the developers decided to plough their resources into devising another 100 fiendishly difficult levels. And if that wasn't enough, it is also possible to connect to the Internet and download another 70 levels. At long last PSP developers are beginning to address the issue of downloadable content with some regularity - and long may this trend continue.

Exit 2 is a great cross between a puzzler and an action game that's only slightly let down by its controls. If you missed it the first time round - well, what are you waiting for? Who knows - maybe we'll actually start seeing some more original and fresh content on Sony's handheld. Yet for all its glorious uniqueness on the PSP and, as much as I hate to say it, maybe the controls would be better if they were point and click. Isn't it about time the DS had some ports and hand-me-downs too?

Reviewed by Dominick Hardy for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).