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GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/05/2009
- Released on: 10/20/2009
- Originally published on GameSpot: Astro Boy: The Video Game (Wii) Review
The ability to fire lasers from his arms, fly with rocket-propelled feet, and shoot down enemies with machine guns from his backside are all things boy-robot Astro Boy performs with the greatest of ease, as showcased in the original Astro Boy manga, as well as now featured in the recently released motion picture of the same name. All of Astro's powers are on display in the game adaptation of the film, but for all the character's superhero-like qualities, the Astro Boy game is far from super in its execution. Stiff, on-foot based stages and repetitive side-scrolling shooter levels don't capitalize on Astro's formidable skills and the generally muddy visuals do little justice to the film's clean, vibrant style.
6239248NoneDespite his numerous abilities, Astro's clunky punches are still his best weapons.
After presenting an introductory cinematic spliced together from the film, Astro's adventure begins in his father's home just before he discovers his flight capabilities (and the fact that he's a robot). Even in this brief on-foot tutorial level, some of the game's mechanical shortcomings immediately surface, most notably how Astro Boy engages in hand-to-hand combat. The issue is that Astro Boy remains stationary while punching and can't move until the punching animation is completely finished, so if you're sandwiched between two enemies, there's a good chance one of them will inflict damage while you're fighting the other, but you can't really do anything about it. It's annoying and only gets worse when you misjudge how close you are to an enemy and leave Astro punching air while an enemy gets a free shot. Granted, there's some relief when a second player joins in (he or she can pick off extra robots that might sneak up on you), and Astro has other standard attacks--such as the finger laser--that don't require close proximity to the bevy of robots out to wreck his face. But, despite the fact that you can find hidden upgrades for these attacks, they're less effective and powerful than just a good fist to the metallic gut.
Also, these on-foot missions just aren't that entertaining. In fact, most of them are the standard, formulaic sessions where you move to one confined area and destroy all enemy robots before moving onto the next area to do the same thing. There are some light platforming elements involved as well, but the fear of falling down a pit is doused when you realize that Astro can simply fly back out of any potential hazard and the penalty for doing so is just a small amount of health. And platforms generally aren't that tricky to traverse when you can simply fly across them with the aid of some rocket boots, though these very same rocket boots don't let Astro hover above a massive boulder that chases him (albeit, quite slowly) through one of the later levels in the game.
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Astro Boy: The Video Game (Wii):
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