By Wayne Webb
Voltron is a carton from the 1980s and it lasted for 124 episodes over two years. Almost 25 years later and some of us still remember it. The sound of the overacted voiceovers coupled with the never ending repeat of Voltron coming together, still brings back fond memories.
As a game for the Xbox Live Arcade it’s a pretty good effort, even if it is a little repetitive, I guess that it’s at least staying true to the source material, which had the same problem. You and your friends can each control a Lion (or one fifth of the Voltron force) and these Lions all come together to form a Robot (odd but true), which in this game forms the core of your Boss battles.
Levels are a top-down, dual-stick shooting affair in which you follow the on screen prompts to run around shooting, protecting (by shooting) and more shooting at things. There are some nifty side moves like leaping on flying objects (which is pretty cool) or mauling, but 90 percent of the time you’ll be pointing in one direction for movement and shooting in the other as you circle the bad guys you’re trying to wear down.
The interstitials and loading screens are very nostalgic and play out a story episode about the re discovery of the Voltron force and the efforts of the bad guys (a witch and an alien dictator) to make the galaxy evil.
The one thing that I really don’t like though is the boss battles, with the re-appearance of my favourite pet hate, quick time events. Time your attacks and hit the red zone on time, and the same with defence, though that’s even easier with a single button push. With all the running around and shooting things, having control of the sword wielding Voltron would have been cool, but that is not to be.
If you like the cartoon or shoot-em-ups that are not taxing or challenging, then this is a good game for you.
Pros: Cartoon inserts, nostalgic design, fun to play
Repetitive, not much varied gameplay, Boss battles QTE’s
3.5 Shacks out of 5
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