ic-games Review - Astro Boy: Omega Factor - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

ic-games Review - Astro Boy: Omega Factor - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii ic-games Review - Home - Review, Preview and Interview for PC, Xbox,Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

Astro Boy: Omega Factor

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Hitmaker/Treasure Video Games
Publisher: SEGA/THQ
Reviewed: Gameboy Advance
Genre: N/A
UK Release: 18th Feb 2005
Article Date: 28th Mar 2005
Difficulty: Medium
Retail Price: £24.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 85%

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Pros

Differing styles of play

Great character building

High score feature

Well designed 'bosses'

Cons

A little short

Screenshots

6 of 10

It’s certainly been an impressive month for Gameboy Advance owners, what with the cunningly brilliant "Mr Pants", and now the addictive romp "Astro Boy: Omega Factor". Even though the Gameboy Advance may be nearing the end of its commercial life, its great to see some of its best titles yet are still emerging.

And even though the characters in Astro Boy: Omega Factor come and go so fast it's still hard to ignore just how beautiful Osamu Tezuka's creations really are. Anyone well versed in Tezuka's work will be pleased to see so many of his characters making appearances. Treasure has done a magnificent job in recreating the magic and it shows with every single level.

Graphically Astro Boy: Omega Factor holds a pretty impressive set of cards, the animations are both large and colourful, and not to mention, pretty impressive to boot. We didn’t really encounter any slow down issues which was especially impressive considering the size of some of the bosses. Each level was also varied and featured a different theme. You’ll be fighting on the moon, underwater and on a multitude of impressive backdrops.

Controls might seem complicated on paper but they are actually pretty simple to pull off. The tutorial does go through the button combinations in some pretty impressive animations which also help to serve up the story of Astro Boy himself. Astro boy can jump using the standard “A” button, but if you press the “A” button when in the air, Astro Boy will use his Jets (especially useful to get to hard to reach areas). The “B” button handles punching where “B” used in combination with UP emits a powerful laser from Astro Boys finger. Finally, “B” pressed at the same time as DOWN makes Astro Boy kick out at his opponents.

And that’s not all that Astro Boy can get up to. All the attacks mentioned above will fill up Astro Boys special attack meter. Normally you will be restricted in the amount of times you can use these attacks during a level but if you make good use of standard combos (laser, punch, kick) you’ll be awarded with more opportunities to pull off special moves. The right shoulder button will activate Astro Boys Arm cannon whereas the left shoulder button handles your machine gun. The last special move can be pulled off by holding down both the A and B button simultaneously.

Another area in which Omega Factor succeeds in is within the character developing sections. During the levels Astro Boy can bump into other people and engage in conversations. Once Astro Boy has communicated with these people his impressions of them are imprinted into his soul, or the “Omega Factor”. The point being that Astro Boy must mix with people to shape his personality. During some of these encounters, the characters he meets will award Astro Boy with points that can be spent on his abilities (Life, Punch, Laser, Shot, Jets and Sensor). Standard fare in most games but in Omega Factor it really does matter. For example in some early missions if you have not invested some points in your sensor the screen will be darker, or even foggier than if you had spent some points in that department. During the game conversations will reveal brief details of hidden areas, or even people you may bump into in the future. It’s up to you if you take on these quests but to complete the game in its entirety it’s a must.

The abilities that can be improved upon are the crux of what makes Astro Boy so appealing. That’s because each point that you get awarded ends up being a prized possession as you decide exactly where to improve Astro Boy. Investing in “Life” will increase your hit points, punch will improve the standard punch attack, and “laser and shot” increases the damage that can be done with the special attacks. Finally “Jets” improves the number of times you can use the jets in a combo, and sensor improves Astro Boys ability to see and hear.

Longevity is assured with the ability to play back the game in “blocks”. What this basically entails is that any completed level can be replayed for a better score. This is important as high scores are stored for each level and it does get quite addictive trying to improve on your previous best. The stages are split up quite nicely, and it is quite unique to have over 30 high score tables for players to compete against. Since Astro Boy: Omega factor is relatively easy to complete this feature alone rescues the game from the bargain bins. 3 Levels are provided, easy, normal and difficult and the high score table reflects the difficulty modes chosen. If you are into your high scores, Astro Boy will suit your needs perfectly. If you wish to witness the best possible ending though (complete the Omega Factor in its entirety) you’ll have to totally explore each of the levels on offer, and that means replaying most of them at least 3 times each.

As the Nintendo DS takes centre stage it’s warming to see developers still putting out decent titles for the Gameboy Advance. Astro Boy: The Omega Factor may feature a pretty short single player mode but with the addictive ability to replay any of the 30+ stages to finally complete the Omega Factor it’s still a game you’ll keep returning to. And when you finally complete the game in its entirety, you still have the ability to better your score in each of the unlocked levels.

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