Astro Boy: The Video Game – PSP – Review

I’m not the
least bit surprised if a game based on a newly released movie or is a tie-in
story related to a theatrical release turns out to be a horrible gaming
experience and a shameless way to rake in extra cash. Then again, a very rare
few movie-based games actually surprised us with fun gameplay elements that made
it worth buying. Unfortunately, Astro Boy The Video game had the making of one
of those pleasant surprises but ends up being just another disappointment with a
few retro-styled fun moments.

Astro Boy
takes flight

The game’s
main story mode follows the story straight out of the film including cut scenes
that look like they came directly from the film’s animation. In the story, a
scientific genius and head of the Ministry of Science named Doctor Tenma calls
the world’s brightest scientific minds to a conference involving two mysterious
elements of power. During the presentation, however, a greedy corporate
president steals one element and places it in a robot that runs amuck. As a
result, the robot escapes and Doctor Tenma’s only son is killed. The good Doctor
then builds a robot that bears a striking resemblance to his dead son and gives
him the second element of power.

As a result,
Astro is born with all the memories of Doctor Tenma’s deceased son as well as
sporting a few cool upgrades such as arm cannons, booster rockets in his feet
and, well, butt machine guns. Unfortunately for him, Doctor Tenma rejects Astro
and tells the robot boy that it was a mistake to create such an abomination. We
follow Astro as he discovers flight for the first time as well as his powerful
moves and built-in weapons he uses for good.

The game
plays like an old school side-scrolling action game that mixes flight combat
with ground brawling action. On the air, Astro uses his arm rockets and finger
lasers to fight off waves of enemy robots that have taken to the skies. While on
the ground, Astro uses the same weapons he does while taking flight only this
time he adds his butt machine guns as well as a few moves like punches, flip
kicks, drill attacks and you can even grab an enemy and throw them. 

I, Robot

Many of the
enemies you’ll face off against are robots, many of them have their own
individual attacks whether it’s firing a heat-seeking rocket or firing lasers
back at you. On the ground, Astro can even use his booster rockets to avoid
enemy attack as well as reach platforms you can’t reach with normal jumps. The
platforming bits in the game are decent but don’t expect much in this
department.

Sadly, while
it’s fun to blast and fly your way through the levels and face off against
numerous enemies at once, even the retro-styled action can get old really fast.
Younger gamers will love bashing robots but by the time they get to the third
level they have pretty much seen and done everything the game has to offer. On
top of the repetitive gameplay, though, the difficulty level ramps up for no
real reason and becomes far too easy in other moments. Expect framerate stutter
during the action as well and more noticeably during animated cut scenes.

While the
story is on the short side, there’s very little reason to want to play again.
Despite what it says on the packaging, there is no 2 player co-op in the game!
For those that like the battles in the game or haven’t gotten tired of the air
and ground combat there is Arena mode. Arena mode simply places you against a
seemingly endless stream of enemies whether you pick flight or ground combat.

Not quite
looking like a blockbuster

The visuals
are just basic with the best features being the animated cut scenes. There are
visual effects in the game and neat little explosions but it’s nothing really
spectacular nor will you feel impressed by the techno city backgrounds. As for
the game’s sound, there’s a good musical score that never gets old in this game
and the voice acting is handled by the likes of Freddie Highmore and Kristen
Bell from Astro Boy The Movie.

Surprisingly
fun in the old school sort of way, Astro Boy The Video Game has some
great brawling and aerial combat gameplay but, sadly enough, the repetitive
levels and other problems fail to keep this game fun for very long. Even if you
love Astro Boy or liked the new theatrical release, this PSP game is fun for
short bursts until the action gets old quickly.

Review Scoring Details for Astro Boy The Video Game

Gameplay: 6.0
Astro can take
the battle in the air or down in the ground to brawl and blast his way in a
retro-styled action game. Metro City is filled with various robots but fighting
them gets old way too quickly even with butt machine guns.

Graphics: 6.5
The game’s
graphics aren’t the strongest even on the PSP, although the animated cut scenes
look just as good as the movie’s animation. Even the special effects aren’t
impressive.

Sound:
7.0
The voice acting
is good, although you won’t know it thanks to the framerate stutter during the
cut scenes. The music comes straight from the movie and that is a very good
thing and makes up for the lack of good sound effects.

Difficulty: Medium
While there are
times when the enemy will overwhelm you and some flight combat levels will have
you respawning, this game isn’t too difficult. Some of the much younger gamers
will become frustrated with some levels.

Concept: 6.0
It’s the new
modernized Astro Boy from the new movie so expect the same cute character from
the film and butt machine guns. Astro Boy can take flight and blast robots with
his cannons as well as unleash a few attacks but other than that there’s not
much to our favorite robotic boy. You can fight waves of robots in a battle
arena mode.

Overall: 6.0
Astro Boy The
Video Game has
all the makings of a really fun arcade-styled action PSP game and while there
are some enjoyable moments in the game it just falls apart too quickly. Aside
from its repetitive nature and lack of diversity, the game has a few glitches
that would have made this an occasionally fun movie tie-in game.