Playing Exit took me back in time to those happy SNES and Amiga days, when the humble platform game had not yet fallen from grace as it generally has today. Taito have managed to track down one of those old platform game moulds, dust it off, filled it with old school liquid gaming and left it to solidify into a trip down memory lane for those of us who tire of endless driving games and “realistic” looking games. So much so, it’s surprising to see it on the PSP rather than the DS, which is where we normally have to go these days for a breath of fresh air.

The game plot puts you in the role of Mr. ESC, a specialist in rescue situations. Whether it be a flooded mall or an explosion in a chemical factory, Mr. ESC will run in and save the day, with no specialist tools or equipment. Instead he will use things he finds in the levels in order to safely reach the level exit.

Aside from the early levels, you will need to rescue all the trapped people by first walking up to them, and then leading them to the exit. People come in four distinct types. The first two types are Young Adults, who have similar abilities to Mr. ESC, and Grown (Fat) Adults, who are able to push heavy items around that Mr. ESC can’t. Kids have to be helped over obstacles and can’t swim, but can crawl through narrow gaps that you won’t fit through. Finally there are Patients, people who are injured and must be carried to the exit. When carrying somebody you can no longer climb over obstacles, so you’ll often need to find a stretcher to help you out.

There are many different obstacles you’ll come across as you’ll play. There are the standard issue gaming crates which can be pushed around, as well as large safes which fulfill a similar role but can only be moved by a Grown Adult. Sometimes you’ll come across fires which can be put out by a fire extinguisher found elsewhere in the level, or by switching on the buildings sprinkler system, if you can locate the controls for it. Electrified floor sections have to be either jumped over or crossed when they aren’t sparking. You’ll also find planks which can be laid down to make bridges across gaps, and ladders and ropes which allow you to safely move from one level of the building to another. Locked doors are also present, and you’ll obviously need to find a key to unlock them.

Once you have found a trapped person, you can then instruct them to perform tasks for you. For example, an early puzzle is to get through a door activated by a pressure switch. You can make your companion stand on the switch whilst you proceed through the door to carry out another task.

As mentioned before, the game feels very much like a game from a 16-bit machine, with purely 2D gameplay rendered with 3D graphics. It reminds me a lot of Flashback, with the in-game characters being drawn in an almost silhouetted form. Just Mr. ESC’s red scarf and assorted hats are drawn in colour. The backgrounds are drawn in a stylish yet simplistic manner, with the whole package feeling like something from the 1940’s.

The game is quite slow paced, with Mr. ESC generally walking everywhere at a very sedate pace. He can run, but apart from making long jumps this is usually unnecessary. The game is really more a puzzle solving exercise, so whilst speed is of the essence in rescuing the stranded people as quickly as possible, it doesn’t prevent those with slower reaction times from playing. It can be quite annoying waiting for Mr. ESC to finish climbing a ladder or crawl through a gap when you just want to pick up a fire extinguisher to put out a fire on another part of the level.

There are 100 levels to play through, and there’s also a network option which allows you to download further levels to play. If you fancy a change of pace then give Exit a try. It’s a good diversion, with most levels taking no more than a few minutes to play (once you know how to solve them that is), but it’s slow pace could prove annoying if you like games with a bit more urgency.

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