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There was a time when the side-scrolling platformer was perhaps the most popular genre in gaming, and when the announcement of a new Sonic or Mario game was met with the same level of excitement that a new Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty elicits today. But with the transition to 3D gaming, the genre gradually slipped into decline, and despite a recent renaissance fuelled by indie developers, higher-budget retail platform games remain a relative rarity outside of Nintendo's stable.Enter Sony's Japan Studio division. Game director Gavin Moore recently said that creating something that no-one has seen before is a driving mantra behind the studio and its games, and it seems to have been with this in mind that the developer has jumped into the 2D platform genre with its own fresh, unique take: Puppeteer.
Of course, the basis of any great platformer lies firmly in its core play mechanics and, by extension, the graphics engine performance. A poor frame-rate, unresponsive controls or misconceived jumping physics can ruin an otherwise good production. Sony recently released a short demo of Puppeteer in Japan - dubbed the Rehearsal Version - offering a small taste of these mechanics and a closer look at the technology powering the game, which will be a full retail release when it's finished. Lasting just under three minutes, the demo may be brief, but it reveals responsive controls and excellent visual design presented in the form of a constantly shifting stage play.
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