Voltron: Defender of the Universe (XBLA) Review

Posted by Todd Vote on 12.07.2011

Voltron: Defender of the Universe is here. Can Voltron save the universe? Come inside to find out.


Title: Voltron: Defender of the Universe
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-4 online
Rated: E 10+

Voltron: Defender of the Universe is a game running very very high on nostalgia. From the 80's inspired animation during the cut-scene mini episodes, to even managing to snag the original voice talent from the old TV show, oh, and mother truckin Peter "Optimus Prime" Cullen to set up the game's story.  Fans of the TV series will love what is on display when you first fire up the game.

From here though, things get sort of hit and miss. According to the character selection screen, each of the five lions available for you to control are to have different abilities and ranges that enable you to find the lion that is right for you to play with. In practice, you will find that each lion is basically the same. I never got the feeling that range was an issue for any of them, because with so many enemies coming from all directions you are constantly maneuvering to get yourself out of harms way. While it was a nice attempt to differentiate between the characters, it goes largely unnoticed in game play.



Each lion is equipped with the same laser as a basic weapon, then they each have a melee attack for close enemies. They do have individual special weapons, that you can earn throughout the game, but again, they don't differ enough from lion to lion to make them noteworthy. Each lion is also given a pretty cool looking pounce attack to take down airborne enemies. Lastly, there are certain powerups located in the missions that might give you the ability to shoot in four directions at once, or perhaps make your lion invincible to attacks for a certain time. The problem with these are that they are very few and far between. I think in one play-through of the game, I was given 3 of these power ups. Just three over the course of the 9 levels that have you controlling the lions.

I spoke in the last paragraph about the 9 levels that allow you to control the lions. In actuality, the game features 3 missions, each broken down into four parts. for the first three parts of the mission, the game is a straight up twin sticks shooter. You navigate your lion around to checkpoints following objectives, and wait for the next objective to pop up. That formula is only slightly broken up by offering an escort objective here and there, and by featuring some levels in space with a flying lion. The down part here is that none of these will actually change the way you play the game.



The last part of each mission is where you get to control Voltron. The Defender of the Universe, weilder of the Blazing Sword. This is the part I was most looking forward to. Controlling all of that power, and wrecking shop on Robeasts! Oh... What's that you say? It's turn based? Mother F*&#$! I really have to question the thought process that went into this part of the game. Let's give players the ability to control Voltron, one of the most bad-ass mechs of all time. But you know what, let's go ahead and neuter the player by making it so the can only call out an attack and play a goofy little mini game.

Once the transformation happens you are taken to a cut-scene, that includes some prompts to move the stick. Doing so will net you extra points, not doing so... Well, that does nothing. Voltron will still form, and you will still fight a Robeast.

Controlling Voltron is as simple as using the left stick to select an attack, but you need to hurry because there is an awesome quick burning timer that will barely leave you with enough time to push the stick, let alone see which attack you selected. Did I mention that each time you do this the attacks are in a different slot too? Awesome, right? Once you select your task, you have to match your button press with a meter, and hit it in the sweet spot for your attack to land. If you hit the attack, good for you. If you miss, tough titty, no second chance, and either way it is now your turn to defend. To defend an attack, all you have to do is push the proper button in a little quick time event. When playing the game with others, it is random which one of you gets to control the fighting.



The very standard and frustrating game play aside, Voltron does manage to do some things right. They really nailed the look and feel of the old cartoons. With only three missions, each portion within the missions are bound to look similar, so you can't really say much about that. I would have liked to see more variety of course, but each set of 4 levels are all set within one planet or area for the overlying mission. to get more variations on the looks, they would need more missions.

Voice work and sound effects are all fairly well done, and just about as good as you can expect given the restraints of being a download only title. As I mentioned in the opening, all the voice actors from the series have returned, and everything is so cheesily 80's. I love it!

Pros
+ Great nostalgic feeling
+ fun cut-scenes
+ Original voice talent

Cons
- Very basic twin stick formula
- Controlling Voltron is turn based?
- The game is very short

The 411
Ultimately, Voltron is a nice looking game that falls very flat on game play. The twin stick shooter genre, it seems, goes either full on awesome or just falls flat. With Voltron, it doesn't work. At least not is such a stripped down basic manner. Fans of the cartoon will love the cut-scenes, and the feeling of playing through a cartoon they may have grew up watching.

Graphics	7.5	They nailed the look of the old TV show. That's really all you could ask of this game.
Gameplay	4.0	Very pedestrian, and outdated twin stick shooter game play, with turn based attacks for Voltron.
Sound	8.0	The voice cast is back from the TV series and they really were the best thing about this game
Lasting Appeal	3.0	3 missions broken into four parts, the lions do not play different enough to make me want to go back through it.
Fun Factor	4.0	The fun of the game quickly wore thin once I realized I didn't have full control over Voltron.
Overall	5.3   [ Not So Good ]