There’s been many a moment when sitting back and taking stock of all that I’ve gained with this journalistic career. I’ve met numerous interesting people. People I admire. There have been times that I’ve felt truly blessed as I’ve taken the next big thing for a spin months before the general public. Then Robotech: Invasion came along. “It’s been likened to Halo,” a friend of mine so reliably informs me. “Hmm, perhaps a nice little alternative to the second level of console FPS titles,” I optimistically think to myself. Oh how wrong a man can be….
As shallow as it appears, my first criticism must go to the game’s visual appearance. To be absolutely brutally honest, Robotech would make a first-generation PlayStation 2 title blush. The drab visuals make for one incredibly unappealing game. The lack of even remotely detailed texturing, the vast unpopulated areas, and the obvious inability to even add a splash of colour here and there make for a title that even most hardened graphic sceptic would be able to stick up for.
Admittedly, the animation does at least appear at least workable, and somewhat smooth. But one swallow does not a summer make. To combine with the bland visuals, the voice acting included, manages to prove once again that when done badly, it can severely detract from the game entirely. If I need to make the confession, the reason you’ll not spy much mention to the games storyline in this review is purely down to the fact that in order to combat the need to simply flick the power switch on my PS2 to off because of the dreadful game I was unfortunate enough to be reviewing, I simply had to swiftly progress as quickly as possible, and taken in as little as I could humanly get away with.
The main unique selling point (every game needs one, apparently) behind Robotech is one that’s nicked quite mercilessly from last year’s Transformers title. You have the ability to transform from humanoid form, into something akin to what you’d expect a futuristic motorcycle to appear like visually. Unfortunately, yet again the title fails to impress one single iota. Looking past the incredible lack of speed offered by what you’d expect to be a speedy mode of transport, the actual use of this second “mode” to your playable characters is completely negated. The lack of any ability to meaningfully make bloody battle whilst in your cycle state means that you’ll merely utilise it as a way to get from checkpoint to checkpoint in the quickest way you possible can. And to be honest, popping on one of those motorised scooters the elderly use would be a much better choice.
Then there’s the enemy AI. Always the one thing that some shooters can at least claim to do moderately impressively. Robotech can’t. In a show of true dedication to bringing back the olden days of gaming, your enemies will feel quite at ease with standing still, on one spot as you blast away at their exterior with no regard to their own health. The only sign of intelligence I witnessed was when one form of enemy actually turned and ran away. Unfortunately he seemed to suffer some kind of mysterious lapse in concentration as he simple turned back towards me, and stood perfectly still, awaiting a glorious death.
There are no new, no fresh ideas behind Robotech. All the missions you’ll undertake throughout the led by the hand storyline are the same generic types with played through a thousand times before. The weaponry is clichéd, the enemies bland and generic, and everything feeling a few steps back in the evolutionary code of FPS’s
Right from the first moment that I booted up Robotech: Invasion in my PS2 I felt that I was witnessing a true gaming stinker. Fortunately my initial lack of optimism was proved to be slightly misplaced, as the game itself does indeed manage to offer greater enjoyment the further you progress. Unfortunately, not only does it fail to progress to anywhere near the level of quality we’ve been privileged enough to make merry game time with in recent years, but the simple fact is that very few of you will see the need to progress beyond the opening half an hour of play. A Halo 2 beater this most certainly is not.
Chris Pickering
