Robo5 Review

The story in Robo5 is one about a robot trying to find his true identity. The tale will not put the popular Short Circuit movie to shame, but it does have its share of interesting quips and humor. Where the game comes to life is in the puzzles and gameplay. Players need to guide the robot protagonist up a tower of boxes, but this is no simple task. The robot may push and pull boxes to make steps necessary to climb higher but players must always remember that blocks will only attach to one another so long as one full edge of two boxes touch one another. Add to this blocks that float, crumble as walk over them, don't move at all, or even some that explode and the solution can quickly escape into the pit of frustration. Add all of this together with some complicated vertical labyrinths and the final stage in each chapter tacking on time limits, and this makes for some serious mind-bending puzzles.

Stars in this game are also handled different from just bragging rights. Every 20 stars collected will open a new diary level in which players learn more about LA and LY, the mysterious sisters who either help or hinder the box climber throughout his journeys. Completing these levels, which are as hard if not harder than the main story, unlocks some secret info. This use of stars makes mastering every story level particularly compelling while adding a nice touch the re-play value to the game.

If there is one complaint about the iPhone version, iPad version is due out later, it would be the finicky controls. Tapping, or swiping, to move the robot to his next destination is sometimes hampered by inaccurate inputs. There were plenty of times I got stuck or had to undo a move because the game thought I wanted to do one move when I wanted to do something vastly different. After a few levels I was able to adjust my play style to fit more with the game, but it is irritating to have controls add difficulty to a game that rewards speedy times and the fewest amounts of inputs.

Make no qualms about it, this is a great puzzle game for iOS. The world is gorgeous, the puzzles difficult, and the story interesting. Gamers looking for a puzzle game that finally breaks the mold, has quite a bit of character, and can adjust to the controls will find a great value in this title.

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