Some of you may remember Invizimals, Sony’s Pokemon-like augmented reality game for the PSP. It was quite clever really, using the handheld’s tiny camera add-on to scan your surroundings for hidden creatures to train and battle. Invizimals turned out to be a hit among young gamers, spawning four sequels, two of which appeared on the PlayStation Vita, and Sony even brought the franchise to PS3 with The Lost Kingdom, an action adventure game.
You may not hear much about Invizimals when Sony talks about its various PlayStation brands, but in some regions (including Spain and Portugal) it’s still a big deal. Beyond the video games themselves, developer Novarama has produced toys, stickers, trading cards, and even an Invizimals television show. What’s interesting is that most of these spin-off products tie back to the series’ overriding theme of augmented reality, offering some layer of interactivity instead of simply owning a piece of paper or plastic.
Speaking to one of Sony’s UK reps at an event several years ago, I remember them demoing the Invizimals trading cards, excited at the thought of bringing them to English-speaking regions. However, that was almost four years ago, and it’s only now that gamers in the UK are finally getting their hands on them.
Produced by Panini, these cards can be purchased in booster packs, each of which includes 6 cards, as well as one of two starter packs that include extras such as a binder, game board, and checklist. At £1 a booster with starter packs around £4-7, Invizimals is much more affordable than its counterparts. There’s also a clever trio of ways you can use these cards, giving you flexibility that you just don’t get with your typical TCGs such as Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, and Yu-Gi-Oh!
On one hand there are the physical cards themselves. Depicting various creatures, powers, and locations from the Invizimals universe, the quality is exactly what you’d expect from a PlayStation branded product. The holographic/foil cards are particularly eye-catching (as they should be) and some of them printed on textured or even translucent backgrounds.
Each of these cards is printed with a short, simple bio next to a series of icons and numbers. As you’ve probably guessed, these are referenced when playing Invizimals, a familiar TCG with some added tweaks. It involves placing your creature cards and powering them up in an attempt to steal an opponent’s three shield cards. Targeted at younger gamers, it’s fairly straightforward without the laborious resource management found in most TCGs.
Requiring both players to have a deck of at least 50 cards, it would take more than a few booster packs to get you up and running. Even if you have the right quantity, there are rules and recommendations surrounding certain card types to accommodate the game flow. So it’s only natural that Panini will be launching pre-made gaming decks for those wanting to play as well as collect.
Aside from collecting and battling, the cards have a third, hidden function. Flip them over and you’ll see a Tetris-like jumble of blocks and colours. These are AR codes that, when scanned, summon a 3D model of the corresponding Invizimal. The scanning is surprisingly fast and efficient on iOS, allowing users to add the target creature to their library to view at any time. Any stored Invizimals can also be traded ad-hoc with other nearby players. Finally, by placing two cards next to each other, you can trigger a fight, complete with battle animations. This is all done via the Invizimals: Hidden Challenges app which is available for free on PlayStation Vita as well as iOS and Android devices.
Having that link between the physical cards and a handheld device will be a selling point for a lot of young fans despite the limited functionality. Ideally, it would have been great to see the cards used in a fully-fleshed game, similar to how toys are used in Skylanders or Disney Infinity. That said, the novelty of having both a physical and digital card collection that you can trade with friends is something kids will love and hopefully Sony, Novarama, and Panini will expand upon this in future.
Intrigued? Then why not enter our Invizimals competition to win a huge starter bundle? It only takes a few second but be quick, there isn’t long left to enter!
