B.O.B.

"Repititive Robot Round-up"

Sup folks. From Robotron to Mega Man to Ratchet and Clank, robots have always been a staple part of the gaming diet. Usually these poor bastards get the job as cannon fodder, but occasionally they get the starring role. Let's take a look at B.O.B. for the Sega Genesis.

Meet B.O.B. He's your typical swinging teenage robot on his way to a hot date when he crashes his daddy's space cruiser. Now B.O.B. must get back on track by blasting his way through various alien scum and robo badies. Released for the Sega Genesis by Electronic Arts in 1993 B.O.B. is your basic 16-bit action title. The game tries to be both a platformer and a run-n-gun game, with mixed results.

The game is divided into three zones which in turn are made up of dozens of levels. Nearly every level has the same find the exit objective. Get from entry point A to exit point B. Of course it's not that simple. The levels are packed with all sorts of ill tempered riff raff who have no interest in helping our hero get to some sweet robot poon-tang. There are a few levels where you must guide B.O.B. in a Jetsons style car through a maze as quickly as possible. Stages force you to keep moving as there's always a time limit. That's a bit annoying because the game rewards you for exploring by stashing health, weapons, and power ups in out of the way places. Let's just say that sometimes I made it through with only seconds to spare or not at all.

Along the way you'll pick some sweet weapons such as a flamethrower, homing missles, and a lightning gun. B.O.B. also has a ton of special accessories that help him take out enemies, deal with a boss fight, or get to hard to reach areas. Controls are a tad slippery it feels like to me. Our robo hero can crouch, crawl, climb, hang, and jump his way through the levels but it just feels slightly off. B.O.B. can only aim his robot weaponry left, right, or straight up, which in a game like this, kinda pisses me off. Often enemies can wail on you and you can't get a shot back at them. Which brings up the challenge. It's a pretty tough game, especially because of the timer, but there's a fantastic password system. 6 degits numbers 1-10, simple and easy the way passwords should be.

Graphically the game is sort of up and down. Level designs are cool at first, but they repeat over and over ...and over and over. B.O.B. himself has some of the most entertaining animations to be found in any 16-bit game I've ever played. Some, including when B.O.B. meets an untimely death and his end of the level dancing, are genuinely funny. The enemies however, including bosses, are very simplistic. Boss fights in general are not very thrilling as they're usually too straight forward and braindead. Sound effects are very run of the mill even for the Genesis. There're only 4 music tracks and they loop continuously so do yourself a favor and hit the mute button.

As a hero, B.O.B. the robot is a fairly likable, entertaining character. His little verbal quips at the begining of each level are a nice touch, but the humor will grow stale after you see it for the 37th time.

It's not Gunstar Heroes, damn it ain't even Vectorman. But I don't feel justified in calling B.O.B. a bad game. It's a pretty fun game if not especially unique. If you can get it on the cheap, seriously cheap like... 99 cents at a yardsale or free via the net, then you might wanna try it.

5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/08, Updated 11/11/08

Game Release: B.O.B. (US, 1993)