Sound:  
There isn’t a whole lot to the sound package for this type of game, but what is there is definitely adequate for what is necessary. There are some rockin’ tunes playing while you battle, and some sound effects that go with the territory, such as crashing ‘Bots, and its done well enough to keep from detracting from the game play. It’s a solid collection, and though it isn’t at all revolutionary, it is definitely up to par with what can be expected in a game like this.

Gameplay:  
Like the show, the theme of Battlebots: BtB is straightforward. You build your own custom Bot, battle it against others, use your winnings to add to or repair your Bot, and then fight some more. There are two main single player modes: Brawl and Tournament. Brawl is a single match, where you choose a Bot, and fight up to three enemies. Tournament follows the same concept as the show, where you fight through ranks of opponents to win big cash and fabulous prizes. Tournament is definitely the robotic meat and battery-powered potatoes of the game. (I think I may be hurting for cyber analogies here.)

Tournament allows you to play a series of matches against a ladder of opponents. After each match, (if you win) you’ll have some money to either repair your Bot or buy new parts for it. While this may sound pretty easy, it has some flaws to it. First and foremost, you may have some trouble consistently winning, unless you spend all you initial money on good parts. The problem then is, you won’t have much money to repair yourself once you get going in the matches. However, if you buy cheap parts, you probably won’t win any matches anyway, so that throws that idea pretty much out the window, too. It’s a vicious cycle, which keeps this from being a truly great, impressive game. Too many times, you’ll find yourself building a new Bot just because you’re out of money and in need of massive repairs. Pretty much, once this happens, your run is over, you have to scrap it and start again.

The matches themselves can also be incredibly fun, though at times frustrating and seemingly random. For example, some matches may end up with both Bots sitting next to each other swinging their respective weapons at each other, hoping the other dies first. Other times, some of the hazards will seemingly be unavoidable, which can frustrate you to no end. Imagine an inescapable vacuum of an area, which sucks you into a trash compactor type hole, which damages your Bot, before spitting you out to inevitably be sucked back into that vacuum hole shortly.

On top of this, the fact remains that many aspects of the battles seem completely random. Sometimes you’ll drive into an opponent and it will damage him. Other times, you will take damage from the exact same collision. It really has little rhyme or reason (an excellent Dave Matthews Band song) to it from time to time, and takes away from the better aspects of the game. If the game were more predictable, then you could plan your attack a little easier, but when you have to try to attack and hope that it will be effective, it keeps you from being too strategic. Most matches will come down to running into one another, swinging weapons and crossing your fingers.

While many parts of Battlebots: Beyond the Box are well done and capture the feel of the show, others are less perfected, and detract from the fun of the game. While it may be expecting a lot of the GBA system, I just think that the engine could have been tweaked a little more to keep less random occurrences from being in the forefront of the gameplay. Also, the advancement can be a bit frustrating, since it can be difficult (almost impossible) to keep enough cash on hand to maintain your Bot, while upgrading it to compete with the bigger, better Bots you’ll encounter as you progress through the Tournament. For fans of the show, it may be enough for you to enjoy, but otherwise, the game play may not be enough to keep you hooked.

Control:
The scheme for moving your creation in B:BtB is slightly different in feel for the different styles of Bot you build, but stays the same in concept. The control pad moves the Bot. A, B and R are the buttons for the three weapons you can have outfitted on your Bot at any given time, and L switches the view between the Bots in the battle. The controls vary in difficulty depending on what type of Bot you are using. The spinbot can be very hard to control, because it is round, so you never know what direction is forward. The controls make it so that pressing up moves the Bot forward, rather than up, so it can be difficult to get out of a corner if you don’t know which way you are facing. It would have been nice to have the option to use a control style where pressing up moved the Bot up, to avoid such control struggles, but having the controls this way (I assume) is meant to add to the feel of driving your own Bot, so it does add to the realism in that regard. However, having another option would have been a nice bonus. However, for most styles of Bot, the controls work very well, and are another strength within the game.

Multiplayer:
While I couldn’t try out the multiplayer link aspects of Battlebots, I think I can safely say that it would be a Bot-load of fun. The single player game is very enjoyable once you get the feel for it, so I can only imagine that playing against a real, live opponent would be even more so. The only complaint I can foresee is that it requires a copy of the game for every person who wants to link up. Single cartridge multiplayer would have been a great addition, but I can forgive this oversight. (This time.)

OVERALL:
Battlebots definitely puts forward a mixed bag. While the sprites look good, and the play flows pretty well, many parts just seem to lack polish. The controls can frustrate on occasion, and the random aspects can be downright infuriating. The nature of the Tournament mode keeps you from getting into it too far without running out of money and having to start over, which is too bad, since it is the main mode within the game. So, if you enjoy the show, you’ll probably find enough in the game to keep you coming back for more. The single battles can usually be pretty fun, and if you have friends who also enjoy the show, you’ll have plenty of good fights ahead of you. For casual fans, it may not be quite solid enough to merit a purchase. However, I can definitely say that I look forward to a game that truly goes “beyond the Battlebox” and has an “MTV Cribs” style walkthrough of Ziggo’s house. I hear he has in indoor-outdoor pool, and a Rottweiler named Cartman!

 

The Lowdown on  BattleBots: Beyond the BattleBox Aesthetics: Very Good Control: Very Good Gameplay: Above Average Multiplayer: Very Good Sound: Above Average Innovation: 3/6 Lasting Appeal: 3/6 Overall: Above Average! "A Quality Game"