Astro Boy: Omega Factor

"Astro Boy returns us to the golden age of platforming"

Astro Boy... Right about now you're probably wondering how this game could get a such score. It's licensed! It's a children's franchise! It's a bloody 2D side scroller! Shouldn't this thing be crap? Well no actually, it's not. And this why...

GAMEPLAY & STORY: 10/10

Astro Boy begins with the birth of the robot boy himself. After dying in a horrible car collision, Tobio is reborn as Astro Boy. The game begins at this point, with your doctor mentor teaching you how to play the game. From here on begins a strong an constantly moving narrative that, in fact, has more depth and soul than most role playing games. The story explores all sorts of moral questions, and even relationships between people (and robots). Do robots have souls? Can we co-exist with sentient robots? Will our fear of robot life damn us, or will it save us? You wouldn't believe a side scroller (much less an E rated game) could pull this off, but Astro Boy manages it with flourish.

Of course, the story wouldn't be much without the gameplay to back it up, and Astro Boy delivers. Utilizing a combination of punching, kicking, jet propulsion, and lasers, it's your job to crush every enemy in your path, while also saving human and robot lives. Mostly gameplay consists of traveling from one end of the screen to another, but the game is broken up by all different kinds of obstacles. In one area you'll have to navigate a deadly electric maze, or in another you'll need to fight your way down an elevator shaft. Enemies keep things fresh most of the time by offering themselves in all different sizes, sprites, and flavors of attack. Basically the game almost never bogs you down with a dull moment.

But the bosses! Oh man... this is where the game takes the cake. Prepare for some of the best boss fights in gaming history. You can really tell Hitmaker took their time to make sure that every boss battle was as unique and fun as possible. It's about time someone took boss fights seriously!

CONTROLS: 8/10

The game controls almost as solidly as it plays. My only gripe is the fact that some of the moves require holding up or down on the d-pad to pull off. This makes attempting them in the air slightly tricky. Really it's not a fault of the developers though, and it pertains more to the lack of face buttons on the GBA itself. Still, it does hinder gameplay in certain circumstances.

GRAPHICS: 10/10

Solid sprite work, colorful levels, great animations, and awesome sprite scaling effects. I think the only GBA that might have pushed the 2D this far is Super Gunstar Heroes. A lot of thought must have gone into the games artwork, and it really shines though every pixel.

SOUND: 10/10

For a GBA game, this has a beautiful soundtrack. There's very little of that bit or byte stuff you'd find in most GBA titles. Someone took this seriously, and really pushed the GBA sound chip to its limits. The music perfectly captures every scene, and makes the boss battles just that much more frantic. Sound effects are properly supplied as well. Great music all around.

OVERALL: 9/10

It's a wonder why this game didn't fly off shelves. It has everything going for it. And I mean everything. I don't think this genre has seen a title so solid in ages. Once you beat it you're not even done. The game unlocks more for you to do, and more story to be uncovered. Unfortunately even then the game is a little on the short side, but the gameplay is so fantastic that I can't let that stop me from recommending it. Ignore the fact this game is based on a license and a "kids" show and pick it up. It's just that good.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/07