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»Custom Robo Arena
"RPG = bad. Everything else = good."
Execution is key. As good as an idea can ever be, when it come to video games, it can never shine unless it has been properly executed. In theory, Custom Robo sounds like an excellent idea. Being able to customize a robot that you can control to do battles sounds like it could make a very intricate and exciting game. In some ways, Custom Robo Arena got it right, but in others, it just feels like the game could have been so much more.
To get this out of the way first, I’m just going to say, the storyline sucks. Custom Robos are the latest craze in the future, and the main character seems to be especially adept to using them. He quickly becomes pretty good at it, and rises to the top of the Custom Robo world. Along the way he meets plenty of challenges in Robo tournaments and even on the streets. My biggest gripe with the story is the presentation. Everyday, you wake up, eat breakfast, have some sort of mission, come home, eat dinner, and go to bed. The gameplay is completely broken up by the waste of time spent at home. Creating drama also seemed to be a problem in the storyline. I never really felt connected with what was going on, just more interested in customizing my robo with new stuff and waiting for the next battle. A good story would have been a nice touch with the game, but this one is bland.
The battle system is probably my favorite part about the game. In CRA, you have a fully 3-D real-time battle system that puts you head to head against another Robo. In the beginning, you and your opponent are shot out by a cannon in cube form. You have full control over the canon’s arm, so you can either try to get near your opponent or keep away. The cube form works basically like a die. Certain sides take longer for you to expand to be ready for battle. If you’re lucky, you’ll get the advantage of getting to hit your opponent while he’s still unfolding. The battles take place in an enclosed arena, and you basically have full range of movement to dodge, and attack. Certain elements can be used to your advantage in an arena which mostly comes down to you running around using things for cover. The real strategy though comes from building your “custom” robo.
The storyline of the game really has only one purpose in my opinion: to get money to buy parts. You can buy a pretty wide variety of weapons and robos. Parts can also be illegal, but illegal parts can cause damage to your robo or yourself. Everything is stored in your garage where you can put together the perfect robo. You start out with only one robo, and don’t get to buy new robos until later in the game, but they vary in different attributes. In addition to the type of robo, you also get to customize four parts of your robo; your main gun, your bombs, your pods, and your legs. Your main gun is pretty self-explanatory. Your bombs and pods though may sound the same, but the main difference is that pods will act more independently and can have homing abilities. With bombs, you have to hold R and aim to hit your opponent. Certain combinations of weapons work better than others. For example, I’ve been using a strategy of using a long-range gun with pods that sit until your opponent comes near them and homes in on them. Fine-tuning a robo that works best for you and against your opponent is a big challenge. Another neat addition is the ability to pose your robo. You can buy dioramas to use as backgrounds for them too. My only gripe about the whole battle system is cleaning your robo. It just feels like an excuse to use the touch screen.
Later in the game, you’ll be introduced to combos. While they sound simple, they’re sometimes hard to execute. A combo consists of at least three hits. The catch is they have to either be different weapons or a mix of aerial or ground attacks, but the same move can’t be consecutive. Combos play a huge role because they fill up your Soul Boost which makes your robo golden and more powerful.
To sum up this game in a nutshell, everything about the battles is good, and pretty much everything story-wise is bad. The graphics in the battles tower over those in the main story. The battles are fully 3-D and look really great. The environments and robos are astoundingly detailed. All the while, the game retains a very steady frame rate. The story however, takes place in a 2-D environment. Everything about this part of the game screams Game Boy Color. Some of the pixel art is decent, but for the most part, but as whole, it’s pretty ugly and plain. Your main character, and pretty much everyone else, always looks angry. The sound is also better in battles, but not by as much as everything else. The battles have pretty upbeat rock music that really fits the environment. The storyline sometimes goes this way, but the rest is just elevator music. Not bad, but nothing extraordinary overall.
Custom Robo Arena also has a battle-only multiplayer available locally or online. Locally, you can battle with two games, or send the game to a friend’s DS who doesn’t have Custom Robo Arena. You can also trade dioramas which seems like a neat idea, but really isn’t that useful. Going online was a breeze, and finding an opponent that matched my skill level didn’t seem to be a problem. You can choose if you want to battle anyone, or someone with a similar rank, whether or not you want to use illegal parts, as well as your arena. The battles are best of three, and my favorite part of the online mode is that if you find a particularly even match or just someone you want to challenge again, you can add that player to your Rival Roster and search for them next time you go online.
My biggest gripe about this game is that it could have been great. The battle system is fun and customizable. More customization and a more refined system would always be nice, but the current system does work great. With a better story and presentation, the next Custom Robo could be amazing. I really hope that Noise tries again and fixes some of these issues. Inside Custom Robo Arena is a gem though in the battle system and online multiplayer, but you’ll have to get past the story to really enjoy it fully.
Article by: Knives
Posted on: May. 29th, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| The storyline is a drag, but the battle system is a blast. |
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Graphics |
| The storyline is a drag, but the battle system… looks great. |
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Sound |
| The storyline is ok, but the battle system is excellent. |
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Replay Value |
| After you get past the initial story, there is a lot of fun to be had. The multiplayer options are great, and the battle system is fun. Custom Robo Arena only begins after you finish the story. |
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