After a long drawn out summer lacking in significant game releases, the fall is finally here and Sir Daniel Fortesque has stepped up to the challenge of jump starting the season for the PSP. You may remember that name from when the original Playstation was dominating the industry. MediEvil featured an interesting hybrid of action and platforming elements that seemed to have evolved through our more modern franchises like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the ever so mischievous Sly Cooper. While most of those titles are usually bright and cheery, MediEvil takes on a dark comedy approach reminiscent of the works that spring from the mind of Tim Burton. It has all the elements of a great action title and in most respects the game is solid and fun. There are a few aspects of the game that tug on the slick presentation and cause a few headaches. If you can put these things behind you, the "Resurrection" of the MediEvil series will definitely start your fall off right.

The Sorcerer Zarok has returned from his supposed demise to wreak havoc on the home turf of Sir Daniel Fortesque. While Daniel died in the eyes of the people as a hero, the truth is, he wasn't a particularly brave soul. In MediEvil Resurrection, you control Dan on his quest to redeem his name and save the realm of Gallowmere from Zarok's seemingly endless array of undead forces. The story is fairly straightforward but it’s sprinkled all around with a decent sense of humor. Some jokes fall flat, but others promote a few laughs and help you take in the story.

The gameplay and controls are fairly simple to get used to. You control Dan by using either the D-Pad or with the analog nub. Both ways can be effective as I found using the D-Pad for more precise and slow movements was preferable in comparison to the often looser feel of the nub. The game is played in the third person and Dan can attack using a variety of weapons that range from simple swords to giant hammers. Switching between weapons is done by pressing theselect button and browsing through your arsenal. It’s easy enough to utilize but it may have been better to allow the player to switch his weapons on the fly as battles can escalate.

Speaking of the battles, Dan will face numerous enemies that have their own individual attack styles. This is of course a fairly basic setup but many times there will be several different enemy types attacking at once. Knowing how to react in each situation is important. This is where the game's first and probably most glaring issue begins to appear. The camera system in the game is a shaky subject. In some situations, the camera can be very cooperative and doesn't pose much of a problem, but in others, particularly in battles or when jumping around, the camera has a mind of its own. It will often obstruct your view of enemies or cause you to go off in random directions. Now because of the camera, combat can become frustrating. The game includes a targeting system that will focus Dan on the nearest enemy, but sometimes you will end up selecting the wrong one. Even when you do find the right target, sometimes you will find yourself swinging at air as you swerve past your target over and over. It’s not as bad as it may sound, but in certain situations, especially when in combat with more than one enemy, it can become grating.

Otherwise, the lock and key format of the game is a nice departure to a simpler time. You roam around the environments fighting various enemies and looking for the best way to unlock the next area. The weapons and moves variety in MediEvil is abundant and fans of the series will be pleased. The right decision was made in bringing the franchise to the PSP rather than the Playstation 2 because there is less pressure for a game like this to evolve and it often feels enjoyable just as is. Regardless, there is always room for change.

The load times in the game are understandable and often faster than most other titles that have been released so far. Visually, MediEvil is detailed in all the right places. The environments are varied and the wacky style adapts well to any given change of setting. Sir Dan himself is well put together (as much as a bunch of bones could be) and his animations for the most part are fluid. The game has a tendency to bog down severely in certain environments and when there are many enemies on screen. This is one case where this actually affects gameplay especially when we add the often wonky camera into the mix. The framerate is definitely something that needs to be worked on if another MediEvil titles goes into the works, as it would benefit the gameplay in the long run. On the other side of the presentation we have the music and voice acting. The music is excellent and complements the game’s wacky style, but more than that, the game is fully voiced and rarely ever relies on text unless it’s regarding certain hints. What good would a bunch of voices be if they weren’t any good? That’s not even valid here because the entire cast does a great job of making the world of Gallowmere come to life (or death, whichever you think).

As a home console title, I’m not sure how MediEvil would have been received. It’s a fairly straightforward and simple action title that has been out of the public eye for awhile. For the PSP though, I can see a bright future for the franchise as the graphics, sound and gameplay all translate quite well to the platform. It has some issues with its camera and framerate, but they can be overlooked if you give it a chance. If you have a friend nearby with a PSP then both of you can link up (game share is finally supported) and play a bunch of mini-games that each have quite a few levels of difficulty to get through. The main adventure can take about ten to fifteen hours to complete depending on how much time you dedicate, but as with all portable games, it’s meant to be played in spurts. Sir Daniel Fortesque is waiting, think on it first and then take his hand on a journey to the land of Gallowmere, if you dare.