Eric's Video Game Review: VOLTRON: DEFENDERS OF THE UNIVERSE

With Voltron: Defender of the Universe being an XBLA/PSN downloadable licensed title, expectations might be pretty low. Surprisingly it can be a fun, by-the-numbers shoot 'em up most of the time...until you get to the Voltron battles.

One shouldn't be surprised that Voltron: Defenders of the Universe is not the greatest or most innovative game in the world (let alone the universe). When it sticks to its core scrolling shoot 'em up mechanics, however, it can be quite fun. Players choose their on screen avatar via old-school selection screen, which shows a myriad of vehicle stats for each of your favorite lion space robots. It doesn't seem as if it matters much as each cat performs much the same way all be it with different projectile graphics and special attacks. Upon choosing, one will be given a mission select screen with whatever levels have previously been unlocked, which is the last gateway keeping the fun from one's grasp. A cutscene featuring animation from the original cartoon provides a bit of context for the mission and “VOLTRON READY!”

Players are dropped into a top-down field where a few enemy types do all within their power to kill you. The gameplay is simple and has been done before, but it can be quite addictive. People have seen these twin stick shooter mechanics in games from Geometry Wars to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Up to five lions can scroll through these environment to take out enemies, collect a couple of power-ups, and save civilians. The real challenge, though, arrives at special arena like areas designated as mission points. Here, you will most probably die. There's no reason to fret because Voltron: Defenders of the Universe has a cool survivor mode in which the pilot is placed outside of the cockpit having to defend himself by whatever means necessary in order for his vehicle to self-repair. Beyond the little character being hard to see (especially in multiplayer), its an interesting way to offer the health regeneration modern games are used to while maintaining pace. Get back to your robot in one piece and you are welcomed with full health ready to take it to the forces of evil. This will not however work when traveling through space (Can't really breath out there.). Along with the lasers, the game's arsenal includes a mostly useless melee attack and an incredibly fun pounce that can grab enemies out of the air. Rinse, repeat, and add a couple of tower defense and escort missions, you have the bulk of Vultron: Defender of the Universe.

Multiplayer is fun, but it doesn't change things up a bit. All the players share lives (which can be refilled by finding star pieces), so the survival of one's partner(s) remains an inherent strategic endeavor when your not trying to beat each other out with a high score. Online was fine, but it was also good to see this game added to the ever dwindling pantheon of local co-op games. This, leaderboards, and saving hidden civilian groups, and the arcade gameplay style add to the replay value a bit, but it's not a game one for which one will be clamoring (Maybe little breaks from playing Skyrim.).

I've been avoiding it thus far, but the most abysmal part of the game must be covered: the Voltron sequences. I can imagine someone in the Behavior Interactive offices saying something to the tune of, “We have a decent shooter game featuring elements from the show, but don't have Voltron form implemented yet...and it's coming out in about a week!” During these periods, everything takes a hit. The graphics are obviously at a lower grade and the energetic firefights are traded for a turn-based battle system that mixes the worst of both JRPG and quick-time events. It's boring, imprecise, and feels incomplete. Multiplayer makes it worse as gamers take turns with the various prompts without anything telling who is to do what. The advantage to the mission screen is that what is unlocked in single-player is open for co-op. Thus, the arduous task can be completed by an individual without confusion and skipped by a team altogether.

While it wouldn't be proper to give a bad review on a game that is fun ¾ of the time, it's difficult to completely recommend when the supposed climax is so broken. There are added positives as the presentation feels like a TV episode with little touches, such as “Voltron will be back after these messages” being vocalized each time someone pauses the game, so a nostalgic buy wouldn't be unwarranted or out of the question.