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The Lowdown
Pros: Represents the cartoon well, some neat battle sequences
Cons: Physics engine feels off, loads of clipping, way too short, levels
feel repetitive
 Purchase
at Play-Asia
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Sonic Team
doesn't mess around when they make games. Their take on the Sonic
series, Sonic Adventure, breathed some much needed life for the blue
hedgehog. Phantasy Star Online was a great way to get console gamers
into playing multiplayer online RPGs. So when you hear that Sonic Team
is going to do something with the Astro Boy license there is a certain
level of quality that you would come to expect from them. Astro Boy
doesn't seem to have the same level of polish as other titles they have
designed, but it isn't a bad game either.
Astro Boy is the classic story of a robot looking for a heart. The
original series appeared in the 1960's, where as this game is based on
the 2003 remake of the series. The new remake of Astro Boy has just
started playing in the US and is on
Cartoon Network if you're
interested. Obviously you control Atom, but when you get Atom he isn't
fully powered up. In the first scene of the game, there is a threat of
attacking robots outside. Of course Atom runs out to the rescue, but he
can only do a simple three punch combo by pressing square. After Atom
clears the threat another robot appears and pushes Atom off of a high
building. Just suddenly, Atom's rocket jets are activated and he gains
the ability to fly. Most of the game is played in the fashion where you
beat a level, you get a power fashion.
Once you have you're rocket jets you're all ready to fly around Metro
City, after a little practice. For some reason Sega made Metro City a
vast space with tons of flying vehicles and rings (a nod for Nights in
to Dreams no doubt) to fly through. To fly around you control direction
with the left analog stick and altitude with the right stick. You can
also press square to do the classic flying punch attack, which also
helps you move around faster. However, when you're flying fast you can
find yourself out of control pretty quickly. If Atom hits anything he'll
bounce off it at an angle, with an effect that looks like its been taken
straight from the animated series. Not too much of a problem unless you're in
a tight space where Atom will bounce back and forth quicker than the
camera can catch up with. Thankfully you can press L1 to lock on a
target and have Atom fly back to the target's direction. To move
from level to level there are a set of colored rings, which represent a
portal to fly through. Moving through these portals takes you out of
Metro City and into the next stage. Although, you have to wonder why
Sonic Team made Metro City so large when the game is so short. At first
flying is cool, but it soon becomes a chore when you're needlessly
flying through the vast world of Metro City for no reason.
When you're actually in the levels you'll see that they're really small
arenas. Surrounding Atom is a bunch of invisible walls that you
annoyingly run into when trying to figure out where to go. The levels
are filled with a small number of enemies. Most of these can be
destroyed by punching them or doing the flying punch attack. Atom also
has the inherit ability to pick up large objects and throw them at
enemies. For some reason the objects seem to float and have an unusually
high amount of bouncing. It almost feels like gravity is sleeping in the
game. Atom can also pick up a large lamp post and use it as a weapon. It
is cool that Atom can interact with the environment, but it would be
nice if he could pick up more things. The first few levels mainly have
Atom fighting a bunch of enemies using his classic powers like his laser
beam attack and his search eyes to find other enemies. Sega did add in
one creative level where they have Atom track down an invisible
character who has a bomb attached to them. In this level you have to
utilize the search eyes, but after that they become worthless. Atom only
has a few powers and you'll be mainly using the flying punch attack and
the laser beam.
While the levels aren't exactly impressive the boss battles are
spectacular. When you are battling a boss monster you are placed against
a normally large enemy. One of the earlier boss enemies has Astro
fighting a robot on a bike. You're in a small arena so you have to chase
the enemy down by flying quickly. When you track him down you can punch
him until he's stunned. When the enemy is stunned you can punch them so
they fly into a building, which is a pretty cool effect. Sonic Team has
managed to capture a super hero bout pretty well. Some of the later
fights, especially the last fight are exceptionally cool where Atom is
fighting in outer space. Although, to tell anymore will be spoiling some
of the surprises of the game so you'll just have to believe that the
fights are cool.
Astro Boy has an interesting set of graphics. Atom looks good, not great.
His model does look like the animated model, but nothing as artistic as
the Game Boy Advance version. For the most part the average enemy
doesn't look anything special either. The graphics do look like the
series, but they feel uninspired. The style of Astro Boy feels
represented, in the critical characters, but not the average random
robot. Besides the vast world of Metro City, the level graphics are even
less inspired. Later levels reuse the same graphics and even the same
level design, which makes you feel like you're in one of those old 70's
cartoon where they only have one frame of a background. What's even
worse is that the graphics have some horrible clipping effects. Atom
seamlessly punches through solid objects and when he's carrying the lamp
post clips into everything it touches. One of the laughable effects is
when Atom is spinning an enemy to throw him. Too many times a spinning
enemy clips into a wall, but they don't actually get hit by the wall.
You have to let go of the enemy first for the game to realize a wall is
there. So, the graphics engine isn't great, but it does produce some
cool flashy effects when Atom is flying. The way the jets shoot out a
trail of steam and even emit a light show of color when Atom flies
towards an enemy is pretty cool. The flashy effects continue in many of
the boss battles where they shoot reflective lasers and blinking balls
of energy. Without a doubt the coolest effect is the background
buildings get damaged as you smash enemies into them or crash into them
by mistake. There are also a few anime sequences added to the game as a
nice touch, but there are only a few.
The music in Astro Boy is pretty good. It has a jazzy - lounge feel to it,
which is something unseen in a platform or action game. For some reason
though the classical tunes suit the game well. Kind of like how the
classical tunes in Fantasia amplify the action of the animation. Maybe
this was a homage to the original series, which had more melody to it.
The voice acting in the game is pretty good. There are plenty of scenes
where Atom will be talking to his sister and Dr. Ochanomizu.
Astro Boy: Tetsu Won Atom's greatest falling is that it is short, too
short. The game is six levels long and these are six short levels. When you reach the end of the game, it gets really exciting,
leaving players wanting more. There is a challenge to collect cards to
get gallery pictures, but these fetch quests don't even extend the
game's play time past six hours. This doesn't mean that Astro Boy isn't
an engaging game. From beginning to end Astro Boy is entertaining,
although simplistic and easy.
Import Friendly?
Of course all of the menus are in Japanese along with the voice
acting. You don't really have too many problems figuring out where to go
or what to do since there are animated clips telling you what to do
next.
US Bound?
Sega is planning to release this game in the Summer of 2004.
Overall
For such a short game, Astro Boy is an endearing experience, which
gamers who like platform or action games will enjoy.
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