Custom Robo

"The best robo battling for Gamecube? I think so!"

Introduction- Alright, Custom Robo is originally from Japan. This one is developed by Noise and published by Nintendo. They came out with a couple games there, and now they've decided to bring it over to North America. Smart move? I think so. American gamers will finally be able to taste the sweet nectar of robo battling from Nintendo.

Gameplay- The gameplay of Custom Robo is very simple. You get in a battle, customize your robo, then fight your opponent to robo death. Your weapons are your gun, which is your main weapon, your missles, which don't really serve much purpose, your pods, which can be very good if you use them right, and your feet, which can increase or decrease your speed and flight. You fight in little virtual areanas with other battlers. You start with 1000 health and just keep shooting and firing until someone dies. 9/10

Story- Meh. The story's here is not very good. The story's why this game got many bad reviews from gaming publications. You start out as a bounty hunter, blah blah blah, fight people, and you find out the world is actually round. Oh my goodness! The story is not the strong point of the game. There is a lot of laughs thrown into the story though. You sometimes get choices of what to say, and sometimes it is completely obscure, making for wholehearted laughter. That upped the story points from a 3 to a 4. 4/10

Graphics/Sound- I'd call graphics average. When you're on the overworld map, graphics look pretty bland and boring, but when you get into a battle, there's a flow of colors going everywhere. Although, most of the battle maps don't have very much variety and can get old quickly. 6/10
Oh, we're at the sound now....well, ummmm.....the sound for the battles can be pretty nice, with loud explosions and lots of gun sounds. Not bad. Ahhh, but the story mode! Instead of having voiceovers or even random dialogue thrown in there....you get bloops, that's right, bloops. Your character could be saying the most exciting thing, but you get bloops. What a conversation sounds like from Custom Robo- Bloop bloo bloo bloop bloop bloop. Yep, that's what its like. 4/10

Play Time/Replayability- There is two story modes. The first one you should be able to finish in about 4 hours, while the second one might take 6 hours. Meh, pretty short game. 5/10

The replayability is where the game stands out. Multiplayer is an absolute blast, rivaling SSBM and Halo for most fun multiplayer experience. You could play it a year from now and it would still be fun. Multiplayer is definitely a plus for this game. It's the perfect game for parties. 10/10

Final Recommendation - I'd say, if you have a lot of friends, then by all means, buy this game. If you're in a sibling and friend drought though, then I'd recommend a rental. Either way, this games fun and stands up to many heavy hitters. 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/04