It shouldn't be surprising that there seems to be a movement on the Vita to produce games that are better suited for younger players. While the change in approach isn't seismic, the recent bundling of The LEGO Movie game with the PlayStation TV marks a beginning, as do the presence of games like PlayStation Vita Pets. Flyhunter Origins, a platforming game that premiered on mobile devices, takes that same approach by tailoring the game to a younger set of players. It would've been a decent game, if it weren't for numerous technical issues.

You play the role of Zak, a janitor aboard a Flyhunter ship on its way home after securing a cargo of flies from around the galaxy. Through some accidental mischief of his own doing, Zak hits an emergency cargo release button over Earth, scattering both the flies and cryogenically frozen hunters to the planet below. He's the only one awake on the ship, so he must quickly learn the skills needed to be a Flyhunter and recover cargo and crewmates before the investors cut off their funding.

The story may be rather generic, but at least the cut scenes drive things along nicely. Part of this comes from Zak's expressions, which convey the tone of each bit rather well without speaking at all. He looks pleasant , almost reminiscent of a minion from "Despicable Me" but with more pronounced ears and hair, and his physical antics are funny enough without resorting to slapstick. It's charming, and the target audience might not mind seeing the character appear somewhere else later down the road.

The platforming is simple enough to grasp, especially since it takes a formula that is reminiscent of a typical licensed game from the 16-bit era. Zak's micro size means he has to traverse things like swamps and gardens but from an insect's perspective, making seemingly mundane tasks monumental. Platforming consists of jumping over pits, landing on dirt slopes and leaves, and collecting insect eggs to use as currency to upgrade your equipment. Your enemies mainly consist of other insects, like fleas and ants, though some spiders and Venus fly traps are invulnerable to your attacks. You can't jump on your foes, but you can attack with your trusty flyswatter and, later on, your gun stuns enemies, so you have a better shot of swatting them. Zak can also use his rocket pack to perform a double-jump and pass cloning stations that act as checkpoints in the level. He can take three hits before expiring, and while there's no way to replenish his health, he has an unlimited amount of lives.

The levels are broken into smaller stages, but each level always ends with a chase sequence. Similar to those found in games like Earthworm Jim, the game shifts from a 2-D side-scrolling perspective to a 3-D one, where you're chasing enemies, dodging various obstacles along the way, and collecting the orbs needed to initiate a turbo boost for closing the gap between you and the runaway fly. Once in range, you hit the fly until its energy depletes, giving you a chance to capture it.

For those expecting any new twists to the established formula, there are none. There's no gradual increase in powers or tools once you get the zapper. No new variations of known level mechanics appear in later stages. The enemy type rarely changes as you progress, and neither does the goal of getting to the end of the level in one piece. The game changes a bit when you take control of the ship's captain, but that's only because your weapons are taken away for a short while. From beginning to end, the game relishes in the same type of simplicity that made titles from the 8- and 16-bit eras easy to pick up.

The problem with this approach is that the level designs aren't exactly innovative. While the backgrounds may change as you go from one major level to another, there's a sense of familiarity to each stage that makes them feel the same. The lack of alternate routes also strengthens this outlook, especially during the 3-D chase levels, when you notice that the same obstacles and boost placements appear in the same spots. The level of difficulty also remains flat instead of increasing steadily. The title is easy enough that weapon upgrades aren't needed since enemies don't grow stronger later in the game. Younger players might not mind this so much, especially due to the game's short overall length, but older players will definitely notice.

Graphically, the game looks nice. As mentioned earlier, the character design for Zak looks great in cut scenes and animates nicely. The backgrounds are also nice in terms of scale and color, with most parts sporting a heavy amount of objects in the foreground and background to demonstrate depth, though some textures could use additional work due to their blurry nature and muted colors. The enemy bugs are well detailed, and the particle effects are nice, though there aren't too many of them. While not exactly a good demonstration of the system's power, Flyhunter Origins looks decent enough.

Though the visuals are pretty decent in stills, it falls apart when in motion due to the frame rate. At best, the game hangs at a little below 30fps half of the time. The other half sees the game's frame rate drop wildly, sometimes skipping whole animations that result in players getting hurt since they don't see an attack in time. There seems to be no solid cause for this drop, since it occurs in the same spots. The frequency with which this happens is enough to sap away any fun you're having with the game.

Like the graphics, the sound is mostly good. The voices are nicely done, even though most of it is spoken in an alien language instead of English. The only English comes from your Flyhunter's computer, which sounds much like Claptrap from the Borderlands series. The sound effects are fine and generate the right amount of squishes and footsteps. The music is a good blend of standard platforming with a little bit of banjo thrown in, and while it doesn't make for a very memorable soundtrack, it is rather distinct when compared to its contemporaries in the genre.

Where the game fails on this front is in the balancing of the sound. The volume between the music and sound effects varies enough that one level may be too loud while another is a little too quiet. The same complaint applies to the voices, where lines that were completely audible in one area are so quiet later that you need the optional subtitles to understand what's being said. The cut scenes also contain no music at all after the opening sequence. That lack of musical accompaniment works fine in some scenes while others feel like placeholders since they would've definitely benefitted from some music.

Flyhunter Origins could have been a decent way for young players to spend an afternoon. The stages may not be expertly designed, and the enemies are way too easy, but the game is short enough to feel fulfilling without dragging on and the mechanics are solid enough. However, the frame rate and sound issues ruin the presentation, and since those issues don't appear on the other platforms, the Vita version sits at the bottom of the quality ladder for this particular title. Though it can be difficult to do considering the system's dearth of platforming titles, you're better off checking out other genre titles before giving this one a thought.

Score: 5.0/10