Astro Boy: Omega Factor

"This game is very enjoyable and another great GBA game.."

Let me start by saying I know very little about the Astro Boy series other than the simple fact as to why he was created. With that said, I didn't even know about this game until I started to see it being mentioned on message boards. There seemed to be a large amount of praise surrounding it, so I decided to check it out.

*****GRAPHICS*****
The visuals in this game are impressive, though that is not to say there are some flaws. Astro Boy, the backgrounds and the enemy models are well done. Although that can be said, the lack of regular models for enemies leaves an unwanted feeling. Instead of more models, the game simply either increases or decreases the size of existing enemies. Also, there seems to be some slowdown with some of the more intense action happening.

*****SOUND & MUSIC*****
The music is mediocre during most of the game, with the exception of boss battles. I enjoyed the boss music a lot, since that seemed to be the only time when I actually realized it.

*****STORY*****
Astro Boy was created in the model of a young boy named Atom, who died in a car crash. His father, the scientist who created him, did so because he wanted to help humanity and robots to live in peace together. Thus, Astro Boy came into being. This game follows him around as he performs his heroic deeds.

*****GAMEPLAY*****
This game is divided into two different kinds of segments, a side-scrolling beat-em-up (a la Final Fight) and a shooter (a la Gradius). Astro Boy has many powers, including a thin and large beam of energy, machine guns from his butt, and the ability to glide through the air using jets from his feet.

The way Astro Boy can power-up is a bit unconventional and one of the main reasons why I like this game. Astro Boy power-ups simply by meeting new people during the game. When he meets a new person, either he can power-up one of his attributes or he needs some more information concerning that person before he can add something to one of his attributes.

*****REPLAYABILITY & DIFFICULTY****
This game is rather short and can throw a lot of people off when choosing to buy it. Of course, I find this game to be so enjoyable to the point where I could simply pick it up at any time and play it for hours on end.

There are 3 difficulties: easy, normal and hard. All of these are simply as stated and sometimes even easy can be a bit overwhelming with all the action going on.

*****CONCLUSION*****
In the end, the GBA receives another Treasure-developed gem. Despite its short lived quest, I feel this game should be in every GBA player's collection.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/04