Amy: Don't be put off by ambitious challenges

I'm sure most gamers out there have read reviews on how horrible "AMY" is but I feel it's far from being a horrible game. If anything it's really a quite impressive game that just happens to be extremely challenging because you have to really think outside the box and be smart with every decision in the game.

I feel bad because in their situation, it's damned if you do and damned if you don't. Gamers want games to be more challenging. Now all of a sudden they want it to be less challenging? I mean come on, give VectorCell a break.

"AMY's" storyline is intense, frightening, unpredictable and just downright brilliant. It is the year 2034 and a comet devastates the world with a deadly virus that has spread hell throughout humanity. Players take on the role of Lana, who has survived the pandemonium and sees how the world as she knew it has been torn apart.

Lana knows and feels the virus beginning to infect her and needs to escape out of this hell hole. Lana has taken a little 8-year-old girl, named Amy, who is mute and has unique powers. They team up to flee from the infected and the military in hopes of surviving and saving humanity.

"Amy" is a survival horror adventure that features a unique cooperative gameplay system where players have to be very strategic in order to protect Amy to keep her and Lana alive. With this co-op system, VectorCell has made the secondary player different from other co-op games. Players have to use the advantages of Amy by doing tasks that Lana isn't able to do and keep her away from the infection.

When it comes to "AMY" and its puzzles, you really have to take in the environment and everything that surrounds it to get you to the next point. For instance, at one point where Amy runs away and hides, you have to go look for her. When you find her, a huge monster busts out and comes your way. You find a place to hide and then you see a mirror off the right side where you can see its reflection to know when it's gone. I felt that was quite clever of the developers to put that there.

This game requires patience and determination. Throughout the game you have to go slowly for the most part to get around monsters without letting them know that you are there. The powers Amy has are not only very interesting, but really ingenious. Just to name a couple, she has a Silence Force that you can cover up the sounds of you walking on glass to not alarm any enemies and she also has a Shockwave Force that you can use to break through wood and hit enemies.

I do understand that "AMY" might not be everyone's cup of tea when it comes to the style of the game. The only flaw I found in the game is how it saves your progress. There are automatic save points but they are very few and far between, which makes it challenging. It requires the player to be more cautious of the moves and decisions in order to survive. If you do die, you lose your entire inventory. So make wise decisions when it comes to crucial points in the game.

"AMY" is a must-buy game. It's only $9.99 for the Playstation Network (PSN) and 800 points for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). If you like challenges, the profound puzzles and the innovative storyline make it worth your money even though it can be frustrating at times.