Astro Boy

Astro Boy is great! His game is not.

Astro Boy is a classic Japanese superhero who?s blasting onto American TV via the Cartoon Network. The world famous animator, Osamu Tezuka, created Astro 50 years ago. Astro Boy?s fans are legion. He?s got a bunch of cool powers, too, including an Arm Cannon, X-Ray Vision, and his famous 1,000,000 Horsepower Strength. He deserves a stronger game.

Astro Boy for the PS2 is just okay. It?s simple fare for kids who are fans of the TV series. The graphics do their duty by faithfully recreating characters and environments from the show, and Astro in particular is a sweet-looking robotic kid. His flying animation is especially awesome?when he uses his famous Rocket Feet, the effect is right on target. The sounds are a mixed bag, though. The music plays lively tunes that capture both the suspense and the lightheartedness of the series, but the voices are spare and uninteresting.

The uneven controls are a handful, especially during combat sequences. When there?s no threat around, Astro cruises like a dream through the air. It?s a kick to just fly him around the futuristic settings. But once the action heats up, the wonky game cam bangs around and has a tendency to get lost in the scenery. It places poor Astro in peril by forcing you to fight enemies off-screen. Although you can lock-on to individual targets, fighting multiple enemies looks and feels like major chaos.

The game?s challenge is moderate in keeping with the youngsters it?s aimed at. If you?re an experienced gamer whose also an Astro Boy fan, this will leave you wanting more. To borrow a sentiment expressed by the numerous canines in the game, ?Grrr.?

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