Spectrobes: Origins Review
Being the first original video game intellectual property made by Disney Interactive Studios, Spectrobes has quite a hefty weight on its shoulders. However, it has managed to make a name for itself on the Nintendo DS, and Disney have now decided to bring the game over to the Nintendo Wii. Developed by Genki, the game looks to utilise the Wii Remote to offer a new experience, but does it translate well to Nintendo's home console?
The story once again focuses on the journey of series protagonist, Rallen and assistant, Jeena. After going on what appears to be a routine mission, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory, with their Spectrobe Master powers gone. However, after finding out that the Krawl, their mortal enemy, are invading their new surroundings, they embark on a quest to save the Kaio System and destroy the Krawl once and for all.
The story is fairly standard and involves the team going from planet to planet in search of Shards, which they hope will help them defeat the Krawl. Each of the planets is fairly unique, and there are some interesting people to be met. However, due to the age range the game is targeted at, the story can be a bit patronising sometimes. The characters will often join the dots long after the player has, and in some cases, they will even ignore what's directly in front of them in what one can only assume is a veiled attempt to explain things more thoroughly.
The Spectrobes add a nice element to the gameplay though, although it's a premise that might be getting a bit too familiar now in general. Spectrobes can be dug up, and then excavated. From here, they can then be evolved from the child form, enabling them to use stronger attacks and change their appearance. Each of the Spectrobes also has an element assigned to them, which enables them to be effective against other elements. It's possible to hold up to 6 adult Spectrobes at a time, and 3 child Spectrobes, so it's possible to have a fairly varied group.
Controlling Rallen is fairly straight-forward. However, the majority of controls don't actually utilised the Wii-specific controls. This is quite surprising considering the game has been developed specifically for the Wii. To compound this, the motion controls that do actually exist generally serve as more of a hinderance than an aid and they can often lead to frustrating gameplay. For example, to send a Spectrobe to attack, the player must flick their wrist forward with the Wii Remote, and to call the Spectrobe back, the player must move it from side to side. However, it often doesn't recognise the side-to-side motion, and it's all to easy to have a Spectrobe attack at completely the wrong time. Another misplaced usage of the motion controls is with blocking. Players must hold the Nunchuk and Wii Remote close to their chest, but moving the Nunchuk also serves as performing a dodge. This causes the game to get confused, and actually blocking is much more trouble than it needs to be.
