Publisher: D3Publisher
Rating: Evearyone +10
Price: $39.49 To Order: http://www.amazon.com
Platform(s): Wii
The Boy has been discovered - a movie and new game are pushing for a new super hero. This manga character is not new to me and for those who want a history, Netflicks carries the complete 1960s animated series. In the original story, a scientist who has lost his son creates a robot in his son's image, powered by a unique "blue core energy". When the robot boy doesn't grow up, his father abandons him. Subsequently he is taken under the wing of a more kindly scientist, who helps him understand who/what he is and how he might use his unusual special powers. It's a touching story and develops Astro Boy as a character you get attached to and want to know more about as the story develops.
I don't know what the movie does - but the game focuses mainly on the fighting and not enough on developing a character. Astro's enemies are mostly robots; Police robots by the gazillions, headless drone robots, punk robots, gangster robots with flying teeth, fire robots, scrap-pile robots, hulking worker robots, biting scavenger robots - and that's just the robots. And much creativity and dedication has gone into all these robots.
The sheer number of enemies keeps our boy fighting constantly and he does so with some unusual weapons: butt machine guns, finger laser, an air dash, arm cannon, flip kick, ground slide which is like crouch, drill attack and absorbability. The arm attack only works in a straight line which means you have to position Astro inline with his target.
The locations are interesting and varied - a pastel deco Metro City, a Tokyo style neon downtown, a junkyard, boiling acid and lava. For a those who want a side scrolling fighting game this will fulfill - for those who want more complex hero, perhaps the movie will deliver.
11/14/2009