ReBoot
No one said it was easy being Mainframe's Guardian, and this game is proof.
You're Bob the Guardian, trying to protect the citizens of Mainframe from
a series of deadly tears unleashed upon the unsuspecting populace by an unholy
alliance between Megabyte and Hexidecimal. Various characters show up along the
way, like Mike TV, to offer advice, but aside from some vital health power-ups,
you're on your own. As you advance from level to level, a new ReBoot
adventure is gradually revealed until you reach the end of the story - but
if you fail in your mission to protect Mainframe, that episode's going to
come up short.
(Electronic Arts, 1997)
What better property to base a game on than ReBoot, the all-CGI animated
show from Canada which has never gotten a decent time slot in the U.S.?
Originally shown on ABC in the early 1990s, ReBoot started out as
standard kid-friendly fare. Its second season introduced some more
violent elements, after which ABC dropped the show and its third season
- complete with battles, psychological drama and character development
aplenty - wound up in a dead-of-night slot on the Cartoon Network. (And
this treatment of the show hasn't changed - the fourth season was aired
on the Cartoon Network, and went almost completely unpromoted.)
This show is based firmly on the second-season format of the series:
Bob totes a big blaster with which to dispatch obstacles and enemies,
and there's a bit of a dark, gritty "police drama" look to the
game, but it's not quite as dark as season three. (Besides, a game set
in the third season would likely feature Enzo as the hero, not Bob.)
The graphics are well-done, and the sound effects and soundbytes are
faithful enough to evoke the show's atmosphere. The "exclusive
episode" isn't bad, even if it's not necessarily a sterling
episode of ReBoot on its own.
If I have a single problem with ReBoot, it's the Zooming Camera
Syndrome - on the one hand, the camera stays planted firmly behind Bob,
but can still have a bit of a dizzying effect that makes me long for
the good old days of 2-D games. Control
of your character is pretty smooth - sometimes too fluid - but
it helps to be able to swing around in a hurry.
Three quarters - worth repeat play, but with some annoying features that
might alienate less patient arcade veterans.
