Game Review Data
 
Game Title
Robot Wars - Extreme Destruction
Publisher
BBC Multimedia
Features
1 - 4 Players. Battery Save.
Format
Robot Battle
Reviewer
Andrew Blanchard


RATING

Excellent!


Ratings Scale:

Excellent!

Good!

Playable!

Ho-Hum!

Yuck!


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Introduction

The Robot Wars TV series has enjoyed a very happy relationship with the GameBoy, with two previous games receiving positive reviews, and this being the third game out in only three years. Industry veterans Warthog, who are no strangers to quality GBA titles, having most recently produced the excellent 'Pinky and the Brain' for SWING, developed 'Robot Wars - Extreme Destruction' (RW: ED). Sequels allow both improvements and modifications to gameplay, and while there was an obvious leap from the GBC to the GBA, it will be interesting to see what the second Advance version delivers.

Screen Shots

GamePlay

Your first stop in RW: ED is to select your Robot, either from a bank of prefabricated models, or you may wish to take a little time and create your own. After this, you can choose to enter one of the many gaming modes offered, and there are plenty in this latest version.

Most people will head for 'Quick start', as this allows you to battle it out with a random Robot in a fixed time period, and is just plain old destructive fun. 'Bash n' Dash' and 'Mayhem' place you against three other Robots, with the winner being the last one intact at the end of the various bouts and can be played in various difficulty settings. 'Tournament' is for serious battlers, and is played over a series of progressively more difficult rounds in order to win medals and ultimately become the Champion Robot.

The 'Gauntlet' section is excellent; here you can take one of your own creations through its paces, and not only will you be rewarded with bronze, silver or gold medals and unlocked extras, but will also get a rundown of your Robot's strengths and weaknesses via a statistics screen. There are six events here in all, with each one against a timer.

First off is the 'Slalom', which is self-explanatory. You may then fancy a game of 'Skittles', which challenges you to knock down an allotted number of objects randomly scattered around the arena. 'Long Jump' involves you hitting ramps at full speed before flying across the arena, and 'Sumo-Bash' is quite literally a game of Robot Sumo. 'Dump' involves you pushing a series of objects into an incinerator (which can be surprisingly difficult) and finally, 'Drop Zone' challenges you to smash color-coded barrels that appear from above.

The thing that keeps you coming back to RW: ED is the fact that almost every bout you win opens up yet another bonus, which could be new Robots, parts, arenas or even the wonderful Arena Editor. This is incredibly simple to use, and works on a grid system allowing you to place various terrain and hazards exactly where you want them.

Finally there's the Multiplayer option, which allows up to four players to battle it out in any of the arenas. Unfortunately, this requires a copy of the game for each player, and while I'm usually very critical of this, the level of technology on display here really is so outstanding that I'm not entirely sure how they'd implement a single cartridge multiplayer option anyway.

Controls

Considering this is on the GBA, the amount of control options at your disposal is simply quite remarkable. For a start, you have the ability to change the control layout, not just to pre-defined sets, but also exactly how you want it. This really is something all games should offer at this stage in the GBA's lifecycle, and I'm sure I don't need to convince any gamer that it helps to make RW: ED more enjoyable.

You can also choose which type of camera mode you wish to view the game--Rigid, Overview, or Fixed, which goes a long way in addressing many of the complaints that are leveled against 3D games. The control itself is very responsive, and you'll find that attacking or retreating from other Robots is swift and painless, unless of course you're being attacked by the rather vicious House Robots.

Graphics

Each incarnation of Robot Wars has featured vast visual improvements, but this is undoubtedly the best looking one, with respect to appearance and technology. Warthog employed a clever mix of graphical routines to give the whole game a really solid 3D appearance, which helps to fully immerse you in the Robot Wars universe. It also features the slickest overall design of the three games, with the various menu systems remarkably intuitive to navigate and also wonderful to look at.

Sound & Music

The audio aspects of RW: ED are excellent, and possess a level of clarity that we should expect from all GBA titles. It starts off with an excellent sample of the TV series' theme with some additional industrial sound effects. The developers have also captured some incredibly clear voice samples and as a result, there's a commentary during every battle. Sound effects have also been well implemented and everyone should try a robot armed with a chainsaw at least once, just so you can hear the incredible noise as it slices an opponent in two.

Final Comments

The huge improvements that the developers made in both gameplay and overall appearance are instantly visible and distinct from the other Robot Wars games. You also get a whole lot of gameplay for your money, as after you've exhausted the single and multiplayer games there's still the Arena Editor, which actually makes RW: ED infinite in its gaming possibilities. It's refreshing to see a product that contains everything a gamer would want from a GBA title, and it really is difficult to find anything negative to say about Warthog's take on this Robot battling TV series. Undoubtedly the best Robot Wars game so far, and if you're a fan of the series, or own a previous version, get this now.

@ EAGB Advance 2002. All rights reserved.