Review: Spectrobes
Spectrobes is a monster collecting RPG that will have you digging for substance.
The game begins by thrusting you in the shoes of a young space agent Rallen. While on a routine mission you stumble on a threat to the galaxy known as the Krawl. You must use your newly acquired pet Spectrobes to take down this menacing threat and save human kind from destruction. That's about as deep as the story gets. You'll spend the rest of the game collecting Spectrobes and fighting them in battle.
The Specs
The game initially drew me in with its innovative use of the DS's features--we especially liked the plastic overlay cards with numbered holes that unlock new monsters--but then it stranded me in the land of boredom with shallow game play and repetitive mechanics. Spectrobes are fossilized monsters. To collect them you must search the environments, dig them up, and then help them evolve to an adult form to fight for you.
Excavating the fossils is the game's strength, which isn't saying much because it quickly grows repetitive and cumbersome. You must use the DS's touch pad to break through layers of dirt and then drill through rock to remove the fossils. The control scheme is intuitive but it ultimately feels like a gimmick. To make things worse the Spectrobes have less personality than a can of soup so there is little incentive to continue catching them.
As it is, Spectrobes is little more than a dull game of collecting fossils with a momentarily enjoyable gimmick attached to it.
Pros: Effective use of the DS' features.
Cons: Mesmerizingly dull, life-less creatures and game play.
![Screen Update: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [PS3]](/screens/115001/183409-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [Xbox 360]](/screens/115002/183408-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway [PC]](/screens/115021/183410-1-1.jpg)
![Screen Update: Spectral Force 3 [Xbox 360]](/screens/140501/183308-1-1.jpg)
