Mister Mosquito is the first of two releases from new publisher Fresh Games.  Formerly known simply as 'Ka' in Japan, Mister Mosquito is a game that reputable video game journalists that work for very known publications (you know who you are) said would never see the light of day in the US.  Well thanks to Eidos and Fresh Games Americans everywhere will finally be able to experience some of the digital splendor that Japanese gamers have taken for granted.

At first glance you can tell that this is not your run-of-the-mill 3D flying/action game.  Graphics are colorful and clean with a decidedly anime influence.  As a mosquito you'll explore everyday household locations, but since you are the size of a sunflower seed a normal size room can seem like an enormous area.  Textures are adequately smooth and well rendered although a little extra attention to detail would have been nice.  The model renderings of the Yamada household look a little too basic, but facial animation is very good.

The voice-work in the game sounds like over-the-top shtick Japanese accents, and surprisingly fits the overall feel of the game nicely.  Dialogue will most often transpire in between levels where the family members discuss the current situation as it relates to your previous blood sucking escapades.  Sound effects are nothing special; it’s just your generic cartoony sound clips that accompany the onscreen action.  The music has a somewhat dramatic overtone to it but it gels nicely with the overall feel of the game, which is surprising considering the game’s humorous and light-hearted theme.

The gameplay is a little awkward at first and the controls are inverted by default.  Changing your perspective around is done with the L-Analog stick, to move in the direction your pointed you press R1.  The goal is to stick proboscis into members of the Yamada family and suck their blood.  They are usually sprayed with insecticide though and you can only target specific areas of their bodies that are vulnerable.  Once you lock-on to a viable piece of skin hitting the circle button will home you in on your target.  To insert your snout into their skin you press in the R3 button, and the final step is to actually begin the sucking process, which is performed by twirling the R-Analog stick in a clockwise position, an onscreen indicator will tell you how fast or slow you should be spinning the analog stick.  Imprecise twirling or twirling out of sync will alert the person to your presence.  There is always a chance of the person noticing a mosquito siphoning from his blood-supply so a successful sucking session demands that you pay constant attention to the stress meter to make sure it stays within acceptable limits.  On top of keeping an eye on the stress meter you will also want to scope out the person's body language, for example if you are sucking the blood of someone who is sleeping and they suddenly awake then you can be sure they have noticed your presence, at which point retreat is your only option. 

If a person notices you they will engage you in battle, stinging key areas of their body relaxes them for some reason, once you sting all key areas (usually 2-3 different spots) the person will cease their attacks and go back to whatever it was that they were doing.  This process repeats until you have acquired enough blood to progress to the next level.

Aside from blood sucking you can also explore the seemingly huge environments that consist of different rooms in the Yamada house.  Picking up items in each stage is a secondary goal and purely optional, but its also highly recommended since finding all the Extra Blood Canisters will result in securing enough blood to survive a second summer, unlocking a whole new set of stages in the process.  You can also find heart container pieces that, after collecting 50, will increase your overall maximum life capacity. 

At first, levels will only require that you suck some blood to progress, late in the game however levels will become more complex and multi-tiered, requiring you to actually interact with items in the rooms like light-switches and telephones.  The difficulty level really gets ramped up on the latter stages of the game since they require you to first bite certain areas of a person to make them faint, only after fulfilling this requirement can you actually get down to the blood sucking.  The dynamics of the game do not make much sense in the real world, most actions and reactions are just nonsensical fun. 

Fully completing the game will take around 10 hours depending on how quickly it takes you to master the controls.  There are also two unlockable two-player VS modes, which add to the longevity of the game.  One of the 2-player games allows each player to be a mosquito where the point is to knock the other player out of the ring.  The 2^nd unlockable mini-game is a lot like the first except its called Reckless Cyclist and instead of playing as mosquitoes each player is a dude on a bicycle trying to knock the other person off a never-ending cliff.  Winning the battle mode sequences in a set amount of time in the main game will unlock new costume colors, and there are a few unlockable costume variations that can be attained.  Bonus-wise Mister Mosquito has all it’s bases covered.

Mister Mosquito is one of the most creative and original games to come out in recent months, most notably because it does not rely on any single preset established genre and yet it is still a very appealing title.  In addition, huge props go out to Eidos for backing up Fresh Games and finally stepping up and giving American gamers the ability to play titles that they could have otherwise not even known existed.  Here’s hoping that more publishers follow suit.

Gameplay: 7.4
A little tricky at first but once you come to terms with the awkward control layout navigating trajectories is a snap.  There is also a fair level of original play mechanics with the analog stick twirling that is involved with sucking blood.

Graphics: 7.9
While not particularly breathtaking the visuals still manage to convey a fresh and unique feel.  Looking at household items from the perspective of a mosquito is a trip, and facial animations are pretty impressive.

Sound: 8.1
Same as in the graphics department the sound isn’t in any way remarkable but it more then gets the job done with its sweeping orchestrated scores and happy little sound effects.  Voice-overs are over-the-top and provide the game with an off-the-wall sense of humor.

Difficulty: Easy
Blasting through the game without worrying about unlocking cool extras is pretty easy, but you’ll definitely want to revisit some levels to acquire the extra blood canisters since collecting them all will allow you to live an extra summer and play through all the stages in the game.

Concept: 8.7 
This is a highly original game whose creativity is matched by few titles.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t Ico caliber but c’mon, what is the last game you can think of that allowed you to suck blood from unsuspecting victims?  And no, Blood Omen doesn’t count... and neither does Vampire Night – ok, let me rephrase, what's the last game that you could be a mosquito and suck people’s blood?  Lets see you come up with an answer for that one smarty-pants, didn’t think so.

Multiplayer: 4.6
There is a couple 2-player mini-games thrown in for good measure but they are nothing special.  A 2-player co-op mode would have been nice but I am just glad there is any multiplayer action in this game at all. 

Overall: 7.8

If your looking for a game that is unlike anything else currently on the shelf at your local videogame dealer then you’d be well advised to check out Mister Mosquito.  This is a kind of hit-and-miss type game so I would suggest you give it a rental before you decide to buy it, but either way give it a gander.