RoboBlitz
Score: 70% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Naked Sky Developer: Naked Sky Media: Download/1 Players: 1 Genre: Action/ Puzzle/ Third Person Shooter
Graphics & Sound: RoboBlitz is a pretty nifty little action puzzler. It is currently out for the PC, but their site has slathered on the XBOX 360 Live logo, so it should only be a short time before you get to play online. Plus, I was extremely excited to see a version of the newest Unreal editor, but more on that later. They have some really cool stuff in their extras section; go to the official site to check it out. My favorite is all of the little warning signs that appear in the game, very funny. Of course it looks good; it is built in the Unreal 3 engine. I know that alone isn't enough, so never fear there is plenty of detail to look at everywhere. With so much detail, though, I often found myself wondering what was usable and what wasn't in the game. The music was great. On their downloads area, you can also download the full version of the theme song rap. It was quite clever and worth a full listen to appreciate this little detail. I loved the textural sound changes you hear as your uni-wheel traverses multiple surfaces.
Gameplay: In RoboBlitz, you take on the role of Blitz, a robotic technician on board a space cannon. You are charged with defending the space cannon against baddies. To accomplish this task, Blitz has a list of vital systems he has to get up and running to fire the space cannon and take on the invading baddies. Karl, another technician robot on the platform, acts as your guide to point you in the right direction. His role as advisor is secured in the fact that he is incapable of moving about the ship. It will be your job to make sure that all of the systems are running before the baddies take over and you can shoot down the dreaded Meganode that are controlling the baddies on board the station. To aid you in your adventures, there are digital blue prints or plans scattered about the ship. These green tokens are called upgradium. As you collect these, you take them back to Karl who will use them to build different tools and devices necessary for you to succeed. Each area has a puzzle to be solved, most of them having some root in physics. Figure out each and protect the station. It is that simple....right?
Difficulty: RoboBlitz was a more challenging game than I was prepared for. After I saw the 360 logo on their site and saw it was for the Live Marketplace, I thought getting through it on Normal was going to be a piece of cake. I was wrong. I was really impressed with not only how difficult the solution to the puzzle was, but the precise control you had to exercise to get the job done. I had a hard time early on with many of the puzzles, because I felt they lacked connotation. They just seemed random and unattached to the actual game world. There were pulley systems where they had already established mechanisms like lifts. There was a level that they had barrels of fuel just hanging. In order to solve the puzzle, you had to engage a system of stacking not used anywhere else prior. It all just came together as random.
Game Mechanics: RoboBlitz is a 3D physics puzzler, so it goes with the territory to have some miscalculations that lead to some interesting physical reactions. My biggest complaint of the game has to do with the camera mechanics. Because you find yourself moving from corridor to large area, and back again, the camera spends a large amount of its time zooming in and away in rapid succession. I nearly became sick on more than one occasion. If you suffer from gaming-induced vertigo, then you may want to Dramamine up for this one. With RoboBlitz, it was my, and I believe much of the public's, first chance to get their hands on the Unreal 3 engine's editor, that is, without paying thousands in licensing fees. This powerhouse engine has been used for years and revamped time and again to produce spectacular worlds of gameplay. Knowledge of this tool and its inner workings has also landed many a gaming enthusiasts real jobs in the gaming industry. Though I liked a lot of the aspects of the game, the entire package of the core gameplay left me wanting. I am really looking forward to the 360 application of this game. We will find out what kinks have been ironed out there.
-WUMPUSJAGGER, GameVortex Communications AKA Bryon Lloyd
Minimum System Requirements: Minimum System Requirements: OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2, CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 2.0GHz or AMD Athlon™ XP 2000+, RAM: 512 MB, Hard Disk Space: 400MB, Video Card: nVidia® GeForce® 6600 or ATI Radeon® X800, Video Card RAM: 256 MB, DirectX Version: 9.0c Recommended System Requirements: OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2, CPU: Intel® Pentium® Extreme Edition 3.2GHz or AMD Athlon™, 64 X2 3800+, RAM: 1 GB, Hard Disk Space: 400MB, Video Card: nVidia® GeForce® 7800 or ATI Radeon® X1800, Video Card RAM: 256 MB, DirectX Version: 9.0c   Test System: Windows XP Pro, 3.2 GHz P4HT CPU, 2 GB Ram, 512 PCIE 16 ATI X1600XT
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