Despite these nuances, there isn't a huge amount of variety in the enemies or missions you do. Escort mission, check. Search and destroy mission, check. Rail shooter level, check. Overall, Robotech: Invasion's brief, eight-hour campaign plays like a standard by-the-numbers shooter. There's a plot twist near the end where you're able to make a choice that affects the ending and how the final boss battle plays out, but other than that, there isn't much to distinguish Invasion's gameplay from any other shooter out there.
Aside from the campaign, Robotech: Invasion offers online multiplayer for up to eight players over Xbox Live or PlayStation 2 online. There are four standard game types, including deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and a capture-and-hold-style game mode called protocapture. While it can be fun for a little while to switch back and forth between cycle and humanoid modes as you battle your opponents, the novelty wears thin quickly, making Invasion just another in a long line of multiplayer shooters vying for your attention. The other main problem is that it's just about impossible to find a match online, as there are usually no servers available at any given moment. And while the developers have thoughtfully included system link as an option for both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 platforms, there is no split-screen multiplayer mode, so it's rather difficult to just get in a quick and dirty deathmatch.
Graphically, Robotech: Invasion is somewhat of a disappointment, especially after the snazzy-looking Battlecry. For whatever reason, the developers migrated away from cel-shading, giving Invasion a standard 3D engine. The overall look of the game is pretty inconsistent. While most of the Invid soldiers look great and animate nicely, the amount of detail on the cyclone troopers leaves something to be desired. The transformation animation between humanoid and cycle mode is choppy, and all the environments look fairly bland. The blandness is exacerbated in many levels because of the darkness. While this forces you to use your night vision mode, looking at the game in a monochrome green doesn't enhance the look of a game that already feels drab and uninspired.
Unfortunately, riding the cyclone isn't as fast or fun as it should be.
On the sound front, the game has some strengths that are undercut by its bad voice acting. The sound effects of the weapons and explosions are good, and they are reminiscent of the animated series. It's also noteworthy that Jesper Kyd composed the music in Invasion (his previous work includes music for the Hitman games and Freedom Fighters). While the brooding, military-style scores he put together for the game are good in general, it's far from his best work.
As with its predecessor, Robotech: Invasion fails to live up to the strength of its license. An uninspired game design, drab presentation, and a nonexistent online community make Invasion difficult to recommend to anyone but the most ardent Robotech fans. For the rest of us who have been eagerly awaiting a great Robotech video game, we'll have to continue to be patient.
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