Robox (WiiWare) - Review by Chris

Introduction

While it may not see as much support from the big name developers in the industry, Nintendo's WiiWare service continues to trundle on with indie developers continuing to supply a steady stream of unique and interesting titles which would otherwise have been overlooked at retail. Even though there are several big action platform titles already available on the service, upstart developers Dreambox Games have taken it upon themselves to create a new IP exclusively for the service in the form of Robox, which looks to hark back to the old days of action platform gaming. Is it able to run the gambit with what is already on offer or is it simply a bucket of bolts?

Gameplay

Robox tells the story of a robotic probe sent down to an alien world to discover what has happened to previous probes which were sent and have since gone missing on the strange world below. The story is clearly not the game's forte as that is essentially all the story you'll receive in the running of the game and as such, the initial feeling you get just from that basic story is a game which is lacking direction and this is something which clearly becomes more evident the further you delve into the game's world.

Playing out as a 2D side-scrolling, action platform title, you'll control a robot as he investigates the planet's locations for information on what has happened to past probes. It takes on a retro feel, aiming for a similar style of game to the many Metroidvania type titles which made up the early days of the NES' life as you slowly explore the planet and its many nooks and crannies. From the beginning, your arsenal of mechanics to help you traverse the world safely include jumping and the ability to shoot a weapon horizontally and as you delve deeper into the game, new items and abilities are made available so that previously inaccessible areas become accessible. It's the tried and tested template which the Metroid series has used since its early days but while it continues to work well within that franchise, and many others, here it feels dated and a lack of direction and objectives will leave you in the dark about pretty much the entire game as you progress.

With no objectives, you'll spend much of your early days in the game hoping to make it from checkpoint to checkpoint in one piece all the while trying to head off the beaten path to search for hidden items, such as power upgrades or amber fragments which contain insects. But heading off of the beaten path isn't that simple as a myriad of environmental hazards and alien life forms stand in your way, and while these would be fodder at best in other titles, here they prove to be more problematic than they should be. As an action platform game, you'll have to negotiate these obstacles and defeat these enemies but due to poor level design, which sees some objects blend in with the surrounding scenery and some platforms having iffy collision detection, and an overly aggressive enemy AI, which exacerbates issue of being unable to fire your weapon in any direction other than left or right, repetition quickly becomes the name of the game as you'll be force to play certain sections over and over again until you finally find a way to get passed them. It certainly gives the game a retro feel but the difficult takes on a high note early on and never lets up making progress, and indeed playing the game in general, an absolute chore.

While the main gameplay takes the form of a basic side-scrolling action platformer, efforts have been made to vary the proceedings. One nice little touch is the way in which new upgrades are given. You'll primarily unlock them after a specific event but to unlock them fully, you'll have to head inside the probe and by using small insects from the amber fragments, of which there are several different kinds, and complete small puzzles and connect circuits. It's a nice touch and shows some originality on the developer's behalf. It's just a shame that it couldn't extend into the actual gameplay itself. The other big deviation gameplay-wise is a collection of on rails shooting segments, where the probe will stick to a giant larva and then be subjected to an unnecessarily length endeavour where you have to shoot and fend off incoming enemies. It adds some variety but the length of these segments really pulls the game down.

Robox is by no means a push over and attempting to complete the game and collect all of the items will take you well over the 10 hour mark. More so than perhaps it should do as a result of the repetition needed to pass many of the game's areas. There's a game here to be enjoyed if you can overlook the many obvious and frustrating flaws with hardened gamers getting the most out of what is on offer here, although the issues will certainly turn some of those away.

Controls

Robox is controlled entirely by way of the Wii-mote, with a setup that harks back to the classic NES style games. The d-pad takes care of movement while the 1 and 2 buttons shooting and jumping respectively. It works well, with no real issues other than Robox feeling like a tank when it comes to moving him and being unable to shoot in any direction other than horizontally. Some pointer functionality has been implemented for certain areas, such as those when you are inside Robox and trying to fix him or in the on rails shooter sections, and some waggle has also made it into the game. But while the pointer controls work well, the waggle, which is used to initiate the game's equivalent of a butt-stomp, fails to register in many instances and you'll find yourself repeatedly making short, sharp shakes of the Wii-mote in the hope that the game will eventually register the motion. It's a blemish which can hinder progression somewhat, as some areas require you to use the technique to move on.

Graphics

A hand drawn art style has been employed to convey your journey through the alien planet and for the most part, it looks great. Backdrops, and much of the foreground scenery and enemy artwork, are well drawn with plentiful use of colour to bring each of the locations to life. While it isn't quite up there with some of the other hand drawn 2D titles on the console, it certainly manages to look the part in all departments when it comes to the main areas of the game. Repetition of some garish artwork, particularly for the below ground sections, does detract slightly from the game's overall appearance, and certain environmental hazards have the ability to blend in with the scenery due to the colour palette used, but these instances are occasional and rather moot points considering the quality of the visuals elsewhere.

The areas set within Robox don't quite match up to the visuals elsewhere, with a darker, more muted colour palette used. It goes a long way to conveying the innards of the robot well but it just feels lacklustre and at times, a lack of lighting or indeed any signposting (an issue the game suffers from on the whole) hinders progress in fully unlocking character abilities. Robox himself provides a stark contrast to the rest of the visuals on offer and is animated well for the most part, as are all of the character models you'll encounter.

Sound

While sound effects ably fit the atmosphere of the game, sounding both retro and modern at the same time so as to further confound that this is a modern attempt at creating a hardened retro style game, music feels distinctly out of place given the pace of the game. Clear attempts have been made within the music to elevate the feel of the game from a slow paced plod through various locations to one of an epic adventure, with the music taking on a grandiose tone which doesn't fit at all with the game. It's therefore jarring and the repeated nature through which you'll be reminded of the tracks paradoxically instils the notion that the game is far from the epic romp that the developers had wanted. It's not that the music is bad. Far from it, as the music is of a good quality, however with one track per area and it being looped, it doesn't go anyway to helping the game's atmosphere.

Final comments

As an attempt to recreate the feel of classic titles from years gone by, Robox does a great job. But, as a modern iteration of those very games from which it pulls its many tricks, it ultimately fails to provide much in the way of entertainment for anyone other than the most patient of gamer. Any semblance of enjoyment you get is quickly overshadowed by the repetitive and drawn-out nature of everything on show here and while hardened veterans of classic Metroidvania style games will relish the opportunity for something to test their skills, Robox feels like a culmination of dated gameplay mechanics which are designed to frustrate rather than invigorate. There's still a game here to get some basic enjoyment from but the aforementioned hurdles undoubtedly make it a title that isn't a necessary inclusion to your Wiiware collection.

Pro: Presented well visually, controls work well, plentiful checkpoints
Con: Cheap deaths as a result of poor level design and enemy placement, no map screen, gameplay feels sluggish and dated
Final score: 5.6

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