Robots

Robots is based on a movie from Blue Sky, the same CGI wizards that brought the entertaining Prehistoric romp Ice Age to movie screens. Featuring the voices of Halle Berry, Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams and Mel Brooks, the film is set in a world populated entirely by robots. The action follows Rodney Copperbottom, who has journeyed to Robot City hoping to meet his hero, the inventor Big Weld. Little does he realise at first that Big Weld has disappeared, and the evil Ratchet has taken over his company, Big Weld Industries. Can Rodney and his friends the Rusties put a stop to the nefarious Ratchet, and restore order to Robot City?

Vivendi have acquired the game rights to the movie and are publishing games to coincide with its release in March 2005. Also out in Europe in March is the new Nintendo DS handheld, and Vivendi have done the honourable thing and made a version for the infant console. It's developed by Griptonite, a veteran handheld outfit that specialise in licensed games, having previously brought Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings titles to the Game Boy Advance.

The action in Robots is 2D but the backdrops are rendered in 3D to better take advantage of the capabilities of the DS. The player controls Rodney and must guide him through locations that you'll recognise from the film, such as Robot City itself, Big Weld's mansion, The Outmode, and Madame Gasket's Chop Shop. Accompanying Rodney is Wonderbot, a sidekick that you can control, and whose help you'll need to reach far away switches and items. Rodney, like his hero, is no slacker in the inventions department, and using invention mode he can upgrade his equipment, including the wrench, electro zapper, and magno grenade. Items can also be acquired by helping robots in need who will reward you for your kindness.

Though a similar version of the game is available for the GBA, the DS version features prettier graphics, 3D menus and high res maps that the player can annotate. There's also a 3D transit ball game using the DS stylus.