I often wonder how developers choose names for the games they create. Sometimes it's a pretty simple affair, simply adding a "2" to the latest sequel or updating the year on a sports game, but for the most part, I imagine a lot of time, effort, and debate goes into the selection of a title. It is, after all, the first thing the public is going to know about the game in question, so it's important to try and convey the game's spirit in its name, to give potential players an idea of what they're in for. The creators of Frantix, a new puzzle game for the PSP, were undoubtedly trying to evoke visions of fast-paced, tense gameplay, frenzied and frenetic fun, and as such, are setting themselves up for lawsuits claiming fraud or breach of contract. Now, if they'd gone with, say, "Boredom," or "Monotony," then they'd have truly captured what it feels like to slog through this yawn-inducing exercise in mediocrity and protected themselves from disgruntled gamers with a yen for litigation.

Frantix is billed as a "Puzzle Adventure," and while there are puzzles aplenty, the adventure is nowhere to be found. The most addictive puzzle games are those that have simple, easily defined goals, and in that respect, Frantix fits the bill nicely: players simply have to collect all of the gems floating around the current stage and find their way to the exit. The course is a walled in track, traveling either left to right or up and down. Complicated mazes and labyrinths, these are not, but there are plenty of obstacles thrown in the way to make the gem collection more difficult. One-way doors, lava, switches, bombs, quicksand, and the omnipresent pushable crate all dot the landscape, aiming to keep players from snagging the swag and dashing through the exit before time runs out. Each puzzle will more than likely require several run-throughs before players can piece together the proper way to navigate its pitfalls, but reload time is thankfully swift and painless. A thorough tutorial walks players through each of the different kinds of obstacles in the game, so the game is easy to pick up, learn, and play, but because of its many flaws, it's even easier to turn off and put down.

Where to begin with what's wrong with Frantix? Well, heck, let's start with the basics: the puzzles themselves. Although their design is solid enough, there's absolutely nothing new or innovative here. Pushing crates to block enemies or flipping timed switches may have been fun the first ten thousand times we did it, but enough is enough already. Some powerups add a small bit of variety to the extremely well-worn gameplay, but for the most part, Frantix is just recycling gameplay elements from the countless puzzle games that came before it. Of course, those new to gaming or the puzzle genre won't experience the same feeling of "been there, done that" as seasoned gamers, and will therefore take longer to get bored. But get bored they shall. Although Frantix does boast more than 180 levels, they just aren't varied enough to keep anyone interested for more than a few dozen of them.

Sadly, the tedium factor isn't what's likely to keep players from embracing Frantix, it's the annoyance factor. The controls, for example, aren't entirely broken, just bad enough to keep movement from being seamless and quick. In a game in which timing is, quite literally, everything, being able to make precise movements is vital to enjoyment and success, but the control in Frantix is sluggish and sloppy, and players will find themselves frequently overshooting their destination or missing a vital turn. Shoving those oh-so-important boxes is unreasonably difficult, due to the lack of any sort of "grab" button. Instead, players must run into the box, then push backwards, at which point the crate will be moved one space and one space only, which wouldn't be such a problem if the lousy control didn't constantly cause players to push the boxes past the intended mark. It's unlikely that dragging them backwards one square at a time, against the clock, ranks highly on anyone's "fun things to do" list. The sloppy controls will also lead to players regularly running into walls, which leads to annoyance factor number two: the sound. Overall, the sound effects in Frantix are unremarkable, but fairly typical for a simple portable puzzler, but whenever the player runs into an immovable object like a wall, his in-game avatar utters a little "Unh!" At first I thought this meant I was losing hit points or taking damage, but, no, it's just meant to add a little atmosphere to the box pushing and switch-flipping. Due to the lousy control, players will be hearing "Unh!" so often that it'll drown out the admittedly forgettable musical score. It's incredibly grating and adds nothing but irritation to the gameplay experience.

The environments are well detailed and attractive, but due to the walled-in nature of the puzzle courses, most of the scenery ends up being off-limits background prettiness. The camera works well, zooming in or out at the player's discretion, or rotating to provide the best angle for figuring out the current dilemma. The characters themselves are well detailed and nicely animated, not that players are likely to spare them more than a passing glance as they work their way through each new zone. The bizarre creatures populating the mazes are…well, bizarre. I'm not sure who thought a "catdragon" was a good idea, but let me just say, for the record, that they were wrong.

In a move that will render players more confused than appreciative, the Oscar award-winning animated short "The Chubb Chubbs" is included on the UMD for Frantix, with the star of the movie, Meeper, eventually becoming available as a playable character. Ummm….neat? "The Chubb Chubbs" is, indeed, very cute, but it's just kind of an odd thing to tack onto a puzzle game that doesn't share its setting, its visual style, or its personality. The movie is only a few minutes long, though, so it's not much incentive to buy the game. It's just sort of…there.

Although Frantix tries to provide a classic puzzler experience, it never attains the addictive momentum necessary to make it a must-have, despite being one of the few of its kind on the PSP. The level design is adequate, but uninspired, and the controls are shockingly loose, inspiring apathy at best and frustration at worst. Those new to the genre will be able to squeak a few hours of enjoyment out of it, but long-time puzzle fans will find nothing here to love.