You can’t judge a book by its cover, but with games you can have a good guess. Going solely by the shrink-wrapped cover, Solatorobo: Red The Hunter looked as if itised dozens of hours of suffering.
The name was the first worry: prom-if they don’t even bother translating the name from the Japanese, what’s the dialogue going to be like? Solatorobo means Sky and robot , by the way.
The back of the box advertises Robot Human Double Action , which led me to expect dreary battles between Japanese robots in giant Eighties-style shoulder pads. Trust me, this sort of thing is all too common.
So it was a pleasant surprise to discover that Solatorobo has the hand-painted, wistful charm of a Japanese cartoon film and the compulsive quality of an airport novel. Even if you’ve upgraded to 3DS, it is worth switching back to 2D for, and it’ll work fine in either console.
You may have never heard of Solatorobo until now, but it is the best nal title so far this year. origi-It takes place in a cute game world where steam-powered airships are piloted by sky pirates, many of whom are dogs and cats. I have no idea what the phrase Robot Human Double Action refers to: your hero is a red setter in a First
World War pilot’s fit, out-although he does ride around on a robot that he uses to attack his enemies.
The varied, eccentric game world is the star here. The ics are superb, andgraph-both scenery and characters are lovingly hand-painted. The script is kept minimal: characters are child-ishly enthusiastic or boo-hiss villains, but there’s enough fairy-tale mystery to make you want to stay on your airship, the Asmodeus.
You’re kept busy collecting objects such as photos and plates, running errands for locals and upgrading your robot for fights where you lift your enemies above your head and hurl them at walls.
The simplicity of the game is its downfall. Eventually, the endless weightlifting contests become wearing, though by that time you’re gripped by the oddball cast and immersed in their strange, floating world.
White Knight Chronicles: Origins should elicit whoops of joy from PlayStation Portable gamers if only because it’s been months since anyone bothered bringing out a game for the console. PSP is being quietly sidelined before its sor, PlayStation Vita, succesarrives later
White Knight Chronicles is a by-thenumbers role-play game, but the 3D battles happen in a mildly entertaining world where science and magic are at war with one another and your enemies are giant, mechanical knights.
There’s little that s original here even the mechanical knights look as if they have stepped straight off prog-rock album covers from the Seventies. It also feels bitty because the game is cut into separate missions. But it’s still a pretty good excuse for nostalgic gamers to dust off their doomed PSPs for one last time. this year. - The Mail on Sunday
