Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction

"Not a bad game"

As you may or may not know, Robot wars: Arena's of Destruction is a game based on the hit UK TV show which is still running strong.
A decent amount of the real robots seen in the shows are seen here in the game, and they are all done pretty accurate to their real-life counterparts.

When you begin the game you will need to create your own original robot first by going into the robot workshop from the selection menu. You will have to decide the power the robot uses, the wheels it runs on, the drive motors, armour, weapons and some others whilst making sure you have enough money to complete your robot.
You can choose chainsaws, axes, flippers, discs, flamethrowers, spikes and many more as weapons to add to your robot, all from the TV Show. When you begin the game, you'll most likely choose wood or aluminium armour due to your money balance, but after winning some money through competitions, you'll be able to apply armour such as Titanium and Steel.

Story

Well, there's not much to a story here. Once you've made your robot, you can choose competitions to enter. Win competitions to unlock robots, money, and different arena's to battle in. But story isn't really needed here

4 / 10

Graphics

The graphics aren't the best for PS2 standard, but they get the job done. The scratches and dents on the robot can be seen as you progress in battle. The London arena in itself looks okay, the arena floor is quite good as it has scratches scattered around like in real life. The fire effects are decent but not spectacular.

7 / 10

Sound

There was no problems with the sound that I could tell, Every time two robots crashed into each other, the scratching and clanging of metal on metal could be heard. When saws and chainsaws began to spin, you can hear the revving up. The commentator is the same one from the show and there isn't any problem with it as I have heard, whatever he says is usually what is actually happening.

9 / 10

Replay Value

There is plenty of stuff in this game to keep you busy for a while.
The robot workshop gives you to option to create pretty much any robot you want to, which will always bring you back to the game. On top of that, it will take quite a while to win all of the tournaments as there is three per arena, and an average of about 4 rounds per tournament. You'll also want to keep trying on the world championship tournament to unlock the last arena.
Besides that you can have 5 different battles from pick up and play situations. These 5 battles can be customized greatly and its always fun to play these.

8 / 10

Pros:
- Robot Workshop
- Sound
- Replay Value
- Real robots from the show

Cons:
- Weapons and armour sometimes come off too easily.
- Annoying woman's voice on the menu screen that won't let you progress until she has finished speaking
- Menu is a bit clunky

Overall this is quite an enjoyable game, and if you are a fan of the show be sure to pick this up. Even if you're not a fan, you could still like it. But rent it first to be sure.

Overall Score: 8 / 10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/24/02, Updated 11/24/02