Bionicle Heroes review (Game Boy Advance)

Your first run through the game will probably take anywhere between two and three hours. That's short in comparison to a lot of games, but double the typical length of similar shoot-'em-ups. Once you complete a level, you can go back and play it again anytime. Some levels are enjoyable enough that you'll want to go back and tear through them a second or third time. You'll also need to replay levels if you intend to unlock all of the orb upgrades, cheats, and rewards in the game. Cheats and rewards require you to collect all of the runes in a level, which isn't possible on just a single attempt. Cheats are primarily amusements like big heads and invincibility. Rewards, meanwhile, are additional mini-games, such as an arena survival mode, Lego pong, and Lego breakout.

Bionicle fans may be disappointed that the connection between the game and the toy line is tenuous and mostly cosmetic. All of the robots in the game look just like the Bionicle toys that you can buy from store shelves, and they break apart into and leave behind Lego bricks when they explode. That type of fan service is welcome, but the developer didn't put much effort toward incorporating the toys' customization potential or the magical abilities discussed in the instruction booklets and related comic books into the game. Your own character is a generic Inika with stock parts that you can't change. When you complete all of the levels in a zone, you acquire a new Toa mask that alters the color of your robot and the visual depiction of its shots. Those cosmetic changes don't change how weapons work, however, and you can't even swap weapons on the fly unless you're replaying a level a second time. The only hands-on aspect that truly incorporates the Lego concept is that you can, very rarely, transform a pile of toy bricks into a gun turret or an elevator platform. Apart from those trivial details, the gameplay and scenery are similar to what you'd see in any other top-view shoot-'em-up. If you didn't already know from the box and title screen that the game is called Bionicle Heroes, you'd never know it was based on a popular toy line.

So long as you're not looking for a game that faithfully emulates the Bionicle brand, there's a good chance you'll have a lot of fun with the GBA version of Bionicle Heroes. Slick run-and-gun shoot-'em-ups like this don't come around often these days, especially on handheld systems.