Robots

"Short Circuited"

If robots were the predominant “species” on the planet babies would be built from spare parts, people would literally be dishwashers, and robots would build lesser robots to do menial tasks for them. If Robots for the Nintendo DS is any indication, their video games will also be total crap.

Robots DS is merely Robots for the Gameboy Advance but with two screens. The top screen displays the GBA game, and the bottom screen displays menus or a map. If you're familiar with the Gameboy Advance version stop reading now because there is no significant difference between the two products. If you aren't familiar with either rendition then perhaps it's better that way. Robots is an action platformer locked into an isometric view. Players take control of Rodney Copperbottom, the hero from the 3D animated movie. In the beginning, Rodney's abilities are very limited—he can jump and… walk. His homemade robot sidekick, however, receives upgrades after every major boss battle; unleashing new special moves such as a hover jump. Rodney can also collect various scrap metal around the world which can be used to build weapons. Weapons range from an oversized wrench to a gun that shoots bolts. When enough parts are collected, the bottom screen displays the template for the new weapon, as well as the freshly gathered pieces. Using the stylus to drag the part and the directional pad to rotate it, players must piece together the weapon. The problem with this is that the part doesn't rotate how it seems it should, and it's really just a matter of trial and error to get pieces to fit in place. Building weapons is extremely aggravating, and fortunately this doesn't happen too often. The robot world isn't divided into distinct levels, rather the game takes place in one giant city that can be navigated on foot or by the transit system. The transit system clamps Rodney in a rolling cage and tosses him onto the highway. Using the touch screen, the ball can be moved left and right to avoid potholes, other balls, and various other obstructions. This game is pointless though, as it is not required to finish it to get to the final destination. By either selecting to exit the highway or by merely falling off the course Rodney will automatically be transported to the end. In fact, the transit system doesn't even require that it be played all the way through even once, and there really is no reason to either because it isn't all that fun to begin with. There are other such touch based mini games scattered around the world, but none of them are much fun, and aren't required to proceed through the game. Aside from the mini games, there are a considerable amount of side quests in the game. Sporadically placed about the environment are broken down robots that will ask Rodney to find parts for them. Some of these robots must be helped to proceed through the game, but others will just reward you with more health slots, weapon parts, and other swag. The main problem with Robots is its lack of direction and instruction. Often times it doesn't make any sense what the next goal is. A lot of time is spent just wandering around trying to figure out where to go next.

Perhaps Robots' most glaring issue is the use of an isometric view. I've never been too fond of the isometric view; it makes jumping between platforms difficult because it's too hard to get any sense of depth and distance. There are also a lot of unnecessary invisible walls, and in order to hit enemies, Rodney has to be directly in front of them. Graphically, Robots is a major disappointed on the DS. As a Gameboy Advance game, however, it actually looks fairly decent. The characters are well drawn and animated, and the whole robot world really looks great. Rodney lacks an up and down walk cycle, which gives him the awkward appearance of sliding around on the ground. The bottom screen is devoted to displaying a map of the city, which is basically useless since it's too hard to keep track of where everything is. The most interesting feature in Robots is the ability to draw on the map. Potentially this would help trace paths and mark important destinations, but everything is erased once the system is powered down. It is a fantastic idea though, and I'd love to see it implemented more successfully. As it stands, the feature only provided mild entertainment by writing messages such as “this game is fun” to attempt to trick myself into thinking that it really was.

Seeing as the graphics didn't get any special treatment over the Gameboy Advance version, it's no surprise that Robots' sound didn't either. The game hardly pushes the DS at all, and doesn't even sound that great for a GBA game. There are a few outstanding songs, but the majority of them are repetitive and uninspired. The music gets annoying quickly, as there is only one song per section of map. Most of the robots produce annoying bleeps, and every time Rodney's sidekick is used a horrible electronic 'power on' sound is emitted. The sound of Rodney's wrench smashing against something is very satisfying, but other than that the sound effects take a back seat to the lackluster music.

Closing Comments
It's frustrating to see GBA games try to pass as a DS product. Robots is dated in every way. The isometric view should have died a long time ago. It's not intuitive; it's just lazy. As bad as this game is though, I still found myself enjoying it at times. It's a mildly entertaining action title, but there are better titles to spend your time and money on. Being able to draw on the map is a really cool and inventive feature; unfortunately it doesn't save any drawings. That's about the only thing that Robots does right though.

Points
+ Draw on map
-- Ported from GBA
-- Isometric view
-- Mini-games
-- Weapon builder

Score: 3/10

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/07, Updated 01/01/08

Game Release: Robots (US, 02/24/05)