• PS3

by Arcee on 12.16.11

Be forewarned my fellow Voltron fans: playing THQ’s twin stick shooter Voltron: Defender of the Universe will certainly bring out a lot of nostalgic memories back for you. Unfortunately they are not enough to cover the major flaws in the game that mire the sheer potential this game should have had. For as much as this game really made me rekindle that fond sensation of joy and happiness watching the animated show as a schoolboy back in the 1980s, as a gamer today it shocked me at how much there was holding all that joy and happiness back as I played through level after level of the game. Ultimately, the worthiness of the $9.99 price tag the game carries will depend greatly on the player.

Before I get to what I think is wrong with Voltron, let me tell you about what I did like about it. For every Voltron fan, the cut scenes are pure gold. Not only do they start at the very beginning of the Voltron story, but all the cut scenes are taken directly from the animated series as it was produced in English. As you start and finish levels, you are treated to animated cut scenes that take back to being that little kid watching the cartoon series in your living room. Where it pertains to actual game play, the enemy Robeast you take on at the end of each level are straight from the series, which is another great treat. 

However, that is where the real fun of the game ends. I give credit to Behaviour Interactive for making the game accessible to everyone, but the ultimate lack of a challenge, even on the most difficult levels, is severely disturbing - almost to the point of becoming dull. That wouldn’t be so bad if the level and game play weren’t so repetitive. The first three stages of each level are your basic twin stick/dual stick style game play you are expecting as you take control of one of the five Lions and trudge your way through, shooting enemies as they appear on screen. The fourth level changes things up a bit as you are now in control of Voltron itself and you now must choose your type of attack, use timed controls to execute the move correctly and then dodge the attack of the Robeast. 

And that is pretty much all the gameplay you will experience; it is the same formula stage after stage. A little more variety would have made a world of difference but none of that is presented in Voltron. Instead, the developers seemed content with what was presented, but for gamers, that is not nearly enough. I would compare it to buying a box of Lucky Charms and getting only half of the marshmallows you were expecting. Well, half a game isn’t quite gonna cut it here. And it really doesn’t help that the game is maybe, and I mean maybe, five hours max in length - and that is only if you take your time playing the game and trying to find all the secrets and rescue all the civilians in the game. Pushing the limits of what you can do in the game extends how much you will play the game, but just barely. And to be honest, as a huge Voltron fan, I did feel a bit cheated by this. 

I really wanted to enjoy Voltron: Defender of the Universe - as a fan and as a gamer, you always expect much more from franchises that really appeal to you. But while the nostalgia factor in watching the cut scenes and playing as the Lions and Voltron, what the game lacks really impacts how you look at the game. Some gamers with more varying taste may be able to look past all that and enjoy the game for its price, but for me and other twin stick shooter fans, I believe that we deserved more. I can’t believe that there has never been a Voltron game out in the US before this; so to finally get one and have it be this much of a letdown…  I seriously want to just scream. Who knows when we will ever see another Voltron video game that could do the franchise justice, but for now we seem to be stuck with this game. 

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