http://twitpic.com/uni5k - Christmas giveaway time! Send us the recipe for the ultimate Christmas sandwich by 4.00pm tomorrow. Tastiest wins

	Samurai Warriors 3 ^WII Prepare to do battle… with tendonitis
	Lost In Shadow ^WII Preview: A hidden classic for 2010?
	ONM Podcast! Listen to episode 4 now on iTunes
	Rabbids Go Home DS ^{DS, DSI} Review: Why Ubisoft has done this is puzzling

Login

Not a member yet? Click here to register!

Nintendo: Wii Previews

DJ Hero ^WII

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers ^WII

Preview

Spyborgs

Format: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Unknown

Publisher: Capcom

Genre: Action, Adventure

5-Jul-2009 Capcom hit the reboot button on their promising Wii brawler

7 Comments

So what exactly is a Spyborg? Well, it's a cross between a Spy, and a Cyborg - you see? Clever stuff. So what's Spyborgs then? Well, spend 30 seconds in the company of its creators and you'll soon hear explained exactly what it most certainly isn't.

It isn't the 82nd rendition of Wii Party Game; it isn't an old game that's now come packaged with 'waggle'; it isn't a collection of sports mini-games; and despite all signs to the contrary it most certainly is not a bad game based on a hyper-kinetic saturday morning cartoon. True, once upon a time it was being built as a cutesy-pie kiddie game (replete with aforementioned iffy mini-games) but a U-turn in development has brought it back onto the straight and narrow.

You see, Spyborgs is now solely a scrolling beat 'em up - a 'brawler' as the kids of today would have it - and really rather a good one at that. It's where Streets of Rage and Ratchet & Clank collide on your Wii, with attacks cleverly transposed onto your Remote and Nunchuck and the action a blur of cartoon-style primary colours.

The Spyborgs are cybernetic crime-busters, yet one of their number has gone rogue, betraying the noble cause of Spyborgism by attacking his old HQ with a robot army. It's up to you and a chum, or you and a willing AI character, to co-operatively biff your way through legions of mechanical evil-doers and save Spyborg HQ.

Smash Attack
There are three different characters to choose from: archetypal gun-slinging character Stinger, svelte sword-wielding lady Clandestine and Bouncer, a big chap who moves about the place like an armoured gorilla. Essentially you move the Nunchuk's thumbstick to control your character, mashing various buttons to co-ordinate attacks, watching the combo counter move ever upwards and doing a fair amount of waggling for special moves.

This being a co-op game, you can also team up for special attacks when extra damage is deemed necessary. The screen goes blue, everything runs in slow motion and both players are guided through some stylish remote waves - if each one is nailed then maximum damage is a shoe-in.

The besieged Spyborg base is huge, there are 36 levels of it, and it's a fun place to beat robots up in. In the sections that ONM has played, Clandestine and Bouncer made their way through decaying mansions, science labs, industrial areas and finished off with a roof-top boss battle against a supremely angry giant robot. Said goliath fires rockets, arm-attached machine guns and an itchy eye that spits out lasers - and proves that a game most people could previously ignore is suddenly back on the radar with some supremely exciting (and very pretty) interludes of crunching metal and epic boss slaying.

Know Your Foe
Look back in the wake of Bouncer and Clandestine's cartoon-violent romp, meanwhile, and you'll see the constituent parts of many more minor enemies that were equally fun to take down. Giant metal spiders, bionically-armed red chaps, crab-things and a contingent of machine-gun toting cyborgs who clearly failed the Spyborg exams at some point and feel a little bitter about it. It's a brainless parade of interesting things to hit in the face and pull off special moves on, but it also makes for a rather fun, and often reasonably challenging game.

Can Spyborgs keep up the momentum throughout? Well, the way in which the fighting duo gain experience as they carve their way through the android attack and can strap themselves to ever more terrifying weapons (Terminator Boosters for Bouncer, a nice new lady-sword for Clandestine) suggests that we'll be able to wrap ourselves ever-deeper into our own playing styles. To keep our attention right through to the game's close though, Spyborgs will need a decent story - something that was lacking in its opening levels. That said, at the very least the game has big stompy robots. Through that fact alone, we've warmed to it already.

Tom East

Screenshots

Interactive

Print Article

Email to a Friend

Read all 7 comments

Screens

1 / 10 Screenshots

Reviews:

Spyborgs

Previews:

Spyborgs

News:

New Spyborgs Trailer

More Spyborgs Gameplay Action

New Spyborgs Movie

Great Spyborgs Boss Trailer

First Spyborgs Webisode

More Related

Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited,
Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885