Reminiscent of the Professor Layton series, Sony have released their PSP contender with the colourful Geronimo Stilton in the Kingdom of Fantasy. However where this title stands out from Professor Layton is the amazing painted artwork that looks like a children's book come to life.

The protagonist of the title is Geronimo Stilton, the rodent editor and writer of a newspaper in Mouse City who would rather eat cheese than do anything else. This is all about to change!

While working on his computer late one night, he hears a booming crash coming from his attic where he discovers a mysterious stairway leading to another world coming from a strange box. With his curiosity getting the better of him, he decides to investigate and ventures into this fantasy kingdom. Geronimo is hoping that this adventure could lead to his greatest novel yet.

Joining Geronimo in this mythical world is a talking frog named Scribouillardus who informs our reluctant hero that he has been chosen by the Fairy Kingdom to save their kingdom and thus begins the journey of Sir Geronimo Stilton in the Kingdom of Fantasy.

As you explore the various kingdoms, you will stumble upon creatures from legend such as dragons, witches and giants, each with their own collection of mini-games, brain teasers, jigsaws and puzzles that have been flawlessly transcribed onto the PSP.

Although the game has been designed for children, some of the puzzles are at times a little challenging, even for hardcore gamer like myself but thankfully the game gives you all the tools to solve the mystery. Therefore some adult supervision may be required.

Also, as the character Geronimo originated from Europe, the story and characters that you encounter are all quite surreal and a little strange but that's actually part of its charm, especially for Western gamers but this also relates to some of the puzzles. Nonetheless, the beautiful animation and artwork of the game is more than enough of a reward to help the progression.

The gameplay of Geronimo Stilton in the Kingdom of Fantasy is quite diverse and there over 60 puzzles to engage your cerebral cortex. From logic games to memory and just about everything else in-between, the diverse nature of the puzzles will ensure that younger gamers won't get bored and will be continually challenged in this thoughtful game.

Graphics/Audio
 
As mentioned, the graphics of the title is quite beautiful on the PSP, thanks to its stylised graphics that looks like painted artwork. Although the special effects are kept to a minimum, it is a good looking game on the PSP that children will definitely become attach to. The musical score is equally as captivating as are the strange sound effects that work well with the graphics and the gameplay.

Final Level

Geronimo Stilton in the Kingdom of Fantasy, although similar to the Professor Layton series is actually far more enjoyable in my opinion due to its magical characters that come from a simpler time as opposed to this world of over the top action heroes. Hopefully simplicity is the key here and Geronimo Stilton in the Kingdom of Fantasy will inspire younger gamers and opposed from using their fingers to do all the game work, their brains are the key. This game is no edutainment title but rather, an amalgamation of book meets puzzles on the PSP.

Great for kids!