Armored Trooper Votoms

Soukou Kihei Votoms

Graphics:	3
SFX:	3
Music:	3
Gameplay:	2
Challenge:	3
Addictiveness:	2
Overall:	2
Genre:	Action
Reading ability:	Not required
Developer:	Takara

Background:
The anime Armored Trooper Votoms has been shown on the International Channel unscathed and subtitled the way anime should be shown (not like the hack-job dubs on Cartoon Network).

The Game:
In this game, you control your Votoms mecha in a 360 degree arena and fight your enemies. This is as close as the Super Famicom can get to 3D graphics, as seen in games like Mario Kart and F-Zero. It uses the DSP chip found in such games.

The gameplay is pretty terrible. Imagine a violent game of demolition derby with mecha. It's like a primitive version of Sega's Virtual On, yet boringly executed. The robots skate around in an arena with boundaries, and basically move like bumper cars with guns. Heaven forbid you get stuck in a corner with enemies shooting at you. After a minute or two of trying to play this game, you will likely start to wonder, "Why am I playing this game?"

The Good:
Pictures of the cool mecha from the anime...

The Bad:
...Everything else about this game.

Overall:
This is just yet another example of a cool anime licensing going to waste on a bad game. It's a shame too, since a Votoms game certainly has potential. Apparently somebody liked this game enough to develop a FAQ/walkthrough for the game. Only a big fan of the Votoms show would be forgiving of this mediocrity. I really like the anime series, but this game stinks.

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