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Custom Robo - Artega - 05-22-2004
I'd heard that Custom Robo was released not too long ago, so I went down to the local Blockbuster and rented it. I wish I hadn't.
Damn if this game isn't ADDICTIVE! It combines the "gotta catch em all" attitude of Pokemon with the chaotic all-out war from the Super Smash Bros. series, except you're controlling little one-foot-tall Gundam-wannabes instead of little yellow rats or Nintendo mascots.
The game is based around little 30cm (about one foot) tall robots called, what else, "Robos". Battles take place in tiny arenas called "holosseums", and can take place in a variety of formats - 1v1, 1v2, 2v2, 3-way Free for All, and 4-way Free for All.
Each robo is composed of five parts: the body (which controls your defense and speed), the gun (your primary attack), the bomb (long-range secondary attack), the pod (short range secondary attack; think missile packs), and the legs (movement and jumping, obviously.)
There are literally hundreds of parts to collect: fifty guns, twenty or so legs, around fifty bodies, and over a hundred bombs and pods. This is almost more hype than fact, however; while you do indeed get access to hundreds of parts (eventually), they're not all entirely unique. Often, you'll get the same kind of part, only with slight modifications (such as speed of the attack, or blast radius, or what direction is blasts your foe.)
Another downside to this is that you HAVE to slog through the trite story mode to earn these new parts. You have to suffer through eighties-era wardrobes, plot twists you'll see miles away, and a whole lot of tedium. You can't "lose" in Story mode; if you're scapped in a battle, you'll just start over from just before that battle took place, and with no penalties whatsoever. Granted, this is a game (like most of Nintendo's products) marketed towards the younger crowd, but it's still too easy. While there aren't any real game-breaking parts, some of the parts you get early on (the Vertical Gun is pretty criminal about this) are going to be WAY more effective than a lot of the other parts (I've barely used anything else besides the Vertical Gun and the Gattling Gun.)
The upside is that battles, while decidedly lacking in real strategy for the most part (basically, you run, jump, and air-dash about while madly firing your gun; the pods and bombs honestly seem like they're there for visual effects and little else), are rather fun, in the same way that the Super Smash Bros. series is. It's rather obvious that Custom Robo was designed with multiplayer free-for-alls in mind.
Apparently, there are other modes to unlock once you complete Story mode, but as I haven't completed Story Mode yet, I've yet to test them. Regardless, I've been having fun with Custom Robo so far, though I'd recommend renting it before plunking down hard-earned cash for it ^_^
Custom Robo - Artega - 05-23-2004
I take back everything good I've ever said about this game. You're forced into participating in a tournament composed of five 1v2 handicapped games in a row. There is simply no way in hell you can possibly beat two opponents at once, even with the heavy bodies and the evasive bodies. I was hoping that the game wouldn't fall victim to cheesing, but it apparently has. This game isn't even worth renting.