Publisher: Nintendo
Ages: seven and up.
Parental
Advisory:
Fighting
Building and battling virtual robots is a natural for video games and Nintendo's Custom Robo delivers the cyber goods. The title lets players construct and pilot war machines in a role-play game that's set in the future.
Players construct robots from the ground up using a 200-part arsenal that includes 50 weapons such as a cannon, blaster and flamethrower; 30 bombs; 30 robo models and 30 homing pods. Most weapons may be freely purchased, while others may only be obtained through secret robo gambling rooms and crime syndicates. The options for robots, which include hovering capabilities, speed, defense and more, are varied and interesting.
After building robots, players battle them in exciting real-time combat that occurs in arenas that come with lava pits, objects to hide behind, conveyor belts, ice and more. The game features roleplay elements that tell a story and have players joining a bounty hunter squad and fighting criminals and unlocking parts. The game also features modes for tag-team battles and free-for-alls, but unfortunately, many of the battles come down to button mashing, which detracts from the experience.
The game looks good and is fairly fun to play. As you would expect, the title emphasizes fighting, but there is some creativity and strategy involved in building robots. In all, Custom Robo is entertaining and generally worthwhile.
6/2/04 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
