Robot Rescue (Video Game Review)

Robot Rescue
Video Game Review
Nintendo DS (DSiWare)
2009
Developer: Teyon
Publisher: Teyon

Usually when you see a new game retailing for $2, you sort of hold your breath as you give payment; regardless if it’s a retail release or a digital download. Surprisingly, Teyon’s Robot Rescue is a good value for its price. It offers a solid experience. It’s fun while it lasts since; which isn’t all that long.

The story is short but simple. There are a bunch of robots stuck in machines and you’re tasked with getting them out by directing them to the exit while avoiding various traps and pitfalls. It’s simple at first but gets more complicated throughout the game’s 45 levels.

The game is played as if both screens occupy a giant room being viewed overhead. Movement is grid-based so you can only move in the direction of one of the four cardinal points. The goal is to get all the robots safely to the exit to complete the level. If one robot runs into a trap and dies, you have to start all over again.

There are plenty of things to interact within a level. There are items like coloured blockades that disappear with switches scattered throughout the level that require proper coordination to be able to progress through the maze. Conveyor belts littered on the course need to be used carefully as once you get on one, you’re on it for the entire ride; meaning that you might get carried into a waiting ambush of deadly spikes. Sticky spots in the floor cause the robot to remain in the same place which allows you to position your robots in a particular alignment so that it’s easier to move them on the grid. Cloning machines also make an appearance that creates a copy of a robot when you pass through it. The new robot appears in the spawning pod located somewhere in the maze. Cloned robots can be useful to solve puzzles like opening switches but they also pose a problem since you have to make sure all the robots make it the exit; both the pre-existing ones and the clone creations. Spikes and other obstacles serve as objects that will provide certain death for the robots.

The DS is held vertically like as if you were holding a book. The D-pad is the only button used which moves the robot(s) around. The gimmick is that all the robots on screen respond to the same command. So pressing the left button once moves all the robots on screen one tile to the left. The robots have no other functionality other than that. All you can do with them is move them around the maze.

The graphics are cartoony and average for a DS title. They’re not bad but they certainly don’t push the hardware. The music is forgettable and the sound effects can be grating on the ears, especially hearing a robot meet its doom repeatedly. The game is presented adequately but will not blow anyone away.

There isn’t much that can be said about the game. There are only 45 levels although some of the final levels provide a steep challenge for even experienced puzzle fanatics. For a maze-based puzzle game, it offers solid gameplay. There are a number of gimmicks but there are not that many that cause the game to be unnecessarily complicated. The challenge comes from the levels themselves which is the trademark of a well-done puzzle experience.

If there needs to be any criticism is that the game doesn’t feel new. Maze games have been around for years so chances are you have played this type of game before. It won’t change how maze-based puzzle games will be made or played. It’s fun while it lasts but there is not much depth to it.

In the end, Teyon’s Robot Rescue is definitely worth your two dollars. It would be worth it if the game was priced higher although not enough to merit the price of a full retail release. It’s a relatively short game and doesn’t offer much variety. Perhaps it’s a good thing it’s short because I don’t know how compelling a game it would be if there were 450 levels in the game, instead of this packages 45 levels. It’s basic puzzle fun that is sure to keep puzzle-fiends happy for a decent amount of time.

☆☆☆