GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	ART Co.
	PUBLISHER
	D3Publisher
	LOCAL WIRELESS MULTI-PLAY
	No
	Wi-Fi/GLOBAL ONLINE MULTI-PLAY
	No
	MICROPHONE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard scoring criteria.

Back in 2004, Treasure, makers of such classics as Gunstar Heroes for Sega Genesis and Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Earth for Nintendo 64 were contracted to make an Astro Boy game for Game Boy Advance. The game proved to be a hit, and scored quite high here on Nintendojo, earning a fantastic 9.8/10. Having had such an excellent game for a handheld already, Astro Boy: The Video Game had some pretty big shoes to fill; and, sadly, it falls plenty short of what it could have been.

The events of Astro Boy: The Video Game parallel the events of the movie, offering bits and pieces from the film in between gameplay levels. These are far from cinematics, however; instead, one is reduced to reading large chunks of text along with stills from the movie. Given its graphic novel roots, there was certainly untapped potential in how the story could have been presented. Furthermore, it quickly becomes confusing, as the developers took small chunks from the film to give what the main story is all about-- in doing so, however, they sacrificed the heart of the story, and in failing to explain what is going on half the time, loses any strength the story may have had.

This is not to say that the game itself is bad-looking; rather, the visuals are clean and efficient. While one may argue that the game looks as if it could perform on Gameboy Advance-- and it certainly does not tap Nintendo DS's graphical potential-- the visuals are very neat, and by themselves capture the style that the filmmakers had gone for, but in 2D. Given its simplistic nature, it was confusing whenever the game experienced some slowdown, which it would-- often, at that-- whenever a multitude of enemies were on the screen.

The audio of the game parallels its graphics in that it is sufficient, but it could have done so much more. There are short grunts from Astro as he fights enemies, minor explosion noises when enemies are defeated, and a simple 30-second tune that's played on a loop for music. To perhaps make up for these technical oversights, the developer includes three save files, and compared high scores amongst players for each level.

Such relatively minor inadequacies could easily be ignored if the game itself had redeemable qualities, and sadly, it does not. There are two game modes to be experienced: a platforming and brawling style, and then a flying shoot-em-up style. The platforming and brawling was, at its best, uninspired; most of the time, it was downright obnoxious. The player, after hitting an enemy, can collect energy orbs to either upgrade Astro or unleash attacks, such as his huge laser cannon or his butt guns. The upgrades include giving Astro more of a speed boost and giving him more strength. While neat in concept, it fails to be effective, and even enjoyable; the more of a 'boost' you give Astro, the more the gameplay devolves into Super Mario Bros. Ice World, as Astro can hardly come to a stop after running.

What's more is that the jumping from one platform to the next is terribly executed. By this point in platforming experience, gamers expect the hero that they control to be able to jump in fluid arcs-- for example, when playing as Mario in Super Mario Bros., you can run and jump at a curve. It's effective, it's fun, it gets the job done. Perhaps in an effort to show Astro's more robotic side, the developers decided to remove this ability and require the player to jump straight up, and then to the left or right as need be. This, coupled with poor platforming design, made for an incredibly frustrating experience.

The flying levels were far more enjoyable than the platforming levels, but were too short and too few to really give the game more 'oomph.' Not only that, but the flying levels also failed to be challenging-- if you can press a button quickly enough, and dodge an occasional indestructible enemy, you're guaranteed success. As a result, the game itself can easily be completed in just a couple of hours-- any extra length is a result of the poor gameplay mechanics, where dying is an inevitability and forces you to start at the beginning of the level.

As far as movie-based games go, one could do plenty worse than Astro Boy: The Video Game; however, one could certainly do much, much better. For fans of the series-- who should have the excellent Astro Boy: Omega Factor as is-- they will be confused and saddened by the mediocre game into which their hero has been placed. For kids who enjoyed the movie, the game will arguably be too frustrating due to its gameplay errors. Underneath the poor design and controls, there is a decent game, but its problems far outweigh its successes. If you really want a good Astro Boy handheld experience, pick up Astro Boy: Omega Factor if you can. Otherwise, you would be better off looking elsewhere for a platforming experience on Nintendo DS.

4.5/10