Robot Unicorn Attack Heavy Metal Edition Review

Robot Unicorn Attack was magical. The addictive gameplay required twitch reactions, the art style was perfection and the sound effects made it legendary. The title racked up over one million plays during its first week as a web game on Adult Swim's website. It's become an internet icon.

Attribute all of that success to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the experience. The rainbow-tailed unicorn, the randomly jumping dolphins, the crystal stars and the poignant background music came together to create something ridiculous and amazing.

Then it hit the iPhone, went mobile and spread further than hopes and dreams could have intended. Now, enter a spin-off that may not be worth your money or time.

The Heavy Metal version of Robot Unicorn Attack is the exact same game with a fresh coat of paint and a new set of sound effects. Dreams have become nightmares, rainbows have become metal imagery and the background music has gone all thrash-y.

Sure, $.99 is dirt cheap. But the fact of the matter is that Adult Swim released, essentially, an entire app that could have simply been a new skin in the old game. Other, much smaller developers do it, so why not the folks from Cartoon Network? This could actually be the definition of milking a good thing. Robot Unicorn Attack was a legend born out of tongue-in-cheek humor, the Heavy Metal edition is a cash-in born out of want. Hardly the same.

There is a special appeal here for metal fans. Certainly, those among us with a love for all that is dark and chainmail-ish will love Robot Unicorn Attack Heavy Metal Edition. The game will make you smile. And, showing it off to your metal friends will make them smile. But is that worth $.99? If you never purchased the original, then maybe. But, face it, the song in the first was better.

The reduced score is based around the fact that this is simply an overpriced skin. The gameplay is still exactly the same as it is in the original. It's addicting, but it ain't perfect. That still holds true here. So the major dings come from the fact that this is just a skinning -- a nice looking skin, but a skin nevertheless.