"Robotic Animals? Check. Guns? Check. Quality? Uh..."

When I first watched Zoids on Cartoon Network, my first reaction was "Woah! Animal robots with guns! COOL!" So of course, following this initial reaction was the thought: "This would make a REALLY good game!" and I was sad to discover that the time, no Zoids games were released for the U.S. That was until I headed over to my local EB Games and saw Zoids: Battle Legends sitting on the bottom shelf. While the history of anime-based games told me to not pick it up, I could not resist whatsoever. Little did I know it would be one of the most unforgettable games of my life...and not in the way you would expect.

Story: 2
I never really paid attention to any of the Zoids anime other than the ones shown on Cartoon Network, so I had no clue if this was based off of one of those obsolete Japanese ones that were never shown in America. So because of my current knowledge I am saying that this story was made especially for this game. Is it a good story? Well, let's just say...no.

You'll be guided through each of the story modes by text "spoken" by each of the characters. Thing is, there is no voice acting, or even grunts for that matter, and each of these "scenes" consist of a cut-and-paste anime background, a cut-and-paste anime character, and a cut-and-paste style of dialogue. Not entertaining at all.

I would try and tell you the story of the game, but I lost track of it after the second mission I had run through. Oh but there's a bright side to this: you get two story modes to choose from overall! Sounds fun. But honestly the story in this game just does not stick out at all, being driven along by effortless scenes and text.

Gameplay: 5
Zoids: Battle Revolution has a pretty pick-up and play control scheme. There aren't any complexities here: every single button has one maneuver and no combinations are needed. However, while the button scheme of this game is incredibly simple, that doesn't mean the game is simple in itself.

The game presents you with two single player modes: Story Mode and Mission Mode. Story Mode is where you try and progress through a god awful story with minor branching paths, while Mission Mode is where you go through a series of fights and can purchase new Zoids for your collection. Both modes can be used to unlock more Zoids for purchase, while Mission Mode is the only mode that actually gives you money to use.

But back onto the difficulty: this game is hard, but not in a good way. The learning curve on this game is incredibly high although the control scheme is so simple. When you pop this game in for the first time, you are met with Zoids that just beat the ones you start with. After the first mission of Story Mode or Mission Mode, it just gets harder from there: stuck with crappy Zoids while your opponents manage to have competitive ones that allow them to beat the snot out of you. Some missions even force you to go at it alone when you could have used another partner to draw the damage for awhile.

The mechanics of the game is just so awful. Since these are "animals" I guess running forward is the only thing you can do, which limits the strategies you can use: either run-and-gun towards your opponent making repeated drive-bys in which they can close-range your bot, or stay put, firing what you got while attempting to do left-and-right dodge leaps. Aiming in this game is a bit skeptical too, as it seems you have to actually wait for the gun to be level in order to fire. This is easily seen by a cursor on the screen, then you realize that only way to get the damn gun level is to stop completely or time it so you fire it as it's parallel to the ground.

But what's a robot game without customization eh? Well Zoids' customization is simple and limited, I can tell you that. There are those guns whose names include various random letter and numbers to make them sound intimidating, alongside some accessories to enhance the abilities of your Zoid. While the number and type of firepower you can put onto your Zoid varies by each Zoid, you can apply these accessories onto all. As I have stated before, there's not much customization here: not even color customization. Instead you are forced to pick one of the color schemes they already give you.

Zoids DOES get points for how the accessories and weapons affect play. When a gun says it is going to add 100 more weight onto your Zoid, you will instantly see its affect as you play, with your lil robotic animal being slowed down to a mere crawl. As you attach various accessories such as an Enhanced Radar or Boost: they are drastic changes and will be noticed immediately.

Zoids: Battle Legends does offer a multiplayer mode though, where one can choose Zoids off of a specific file off of their memory card. This means that all of those Zoids your purchased in Mission Mode can be used to obliterate your buddies too. Downfall here is that you are only limited to one-on-one battles, and there are no computer A.I. for you two to be on a team together. Big hit there.

Graphics: 6
At first I thought the graphics were awesome, but then I realized I was only being affected by the thought of seeing my Zoids in full 3D under my control. Sure, the Zoids do look sweet at times, especially when they're posing after the final blow, but the problem here is the slowdown and just overall presentation. There is a LOT of slowdown on some stages and for no apparent reason from what I can tell. It doesn't seem to be pushing the GC's power whatsoever and it just gets annoying and bothersome.

A lot of stages consist of just a barren ground with some having a few buildings here and there. There is no inspiration in level design, but they get points for having varied ones. As I said before, the Zoids in this game look pretty good in my eyes, but then again, that's just me. Maybe I'm still being blinded by the awesomeness of seeing my beloved Shadowfox in full 3D.

Sound: 3
The game has almost no sound whatsoever. Sometimes I wonder if the game was even completed in terms of this tidbit. While there is music in this game and - oh, there are little voices here and there - everything that reaches my ear sounds very unpolished and made in five minutes.

I just remembered there were voices in this game, but only small phrases said by each person when you pick them as your pilot or before a battle ensues. That's all, and the voices are horrible. Horrible as in you wished they didn't say anything at all, that's probably why I forgot about them: I blocked them out in my mind as to not be aggravated anymore.

With my awkward tastes I probably was satisfied with about one or two of the songs this game had to offer, but other than that, there's really nothing else to put here.

Judgement: 4
I was blinded by my excitement, and I regret it. While Zoids made a pretty good anime to watch, Zoids: Battle Legends falls victim to many of the other anime games out there: it just plain sucks. There is nothing significant about this game that makes it stand out besides its bright green cover and the Ligar Zero standing majestically on the front. Just remember that when it comes to this game, it is below mediocrity and feels that there wast just no effort put into this game. But hey, if you want to see all your favorite Zoids in full 3D, or want to attempt all of your favorite Zoids' special attacks, then by all means go for it; just don't expect anything.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 05/30/07