Meet the Robinsons Hands-on

March 3rd, 2007, 00:13 Posted By: wraggster

Disney's next big animated feature's been a long time coming, but we're finally going to see Meet the Robinson hit the theaters later this spring. With big kid's movies come videogames attached to the brand, and Meet the Robinson is no different -- Disney Interactive will be releasing a bunch of games based on the film. We recently had the opportunity to romp around within the Nintendo DS version, which is a completely separate game from the Wii and PS2 versions in development at Avalanche.

The Nintendo DS game's being worked on by Altron, a Japanese studio that's very familiar with the Nintendo handheld platform. The game the team's created for Disney Interactive is a touch-screen focused over-the-shoulder action adventure that puts heavy emphasis on the Will Robinson's arsenal of gadgetry...something that fans of the movie will be quite familiar with.

The game's story is similar to what's been created for the console -- instead of a game that's a by-the-numbers retelling of the film, this game's more of a spin-off that revolves around the movie's characters but tells a new tale. Meet the Robinson starts in the past (as the Robinsons are huge on time travel) where Wilbur screws up the time line somewhere down the line and must fix a future gone completely screwy.

Players control Will using a combination of the D-pad and touch screen. Will's maneuvered via the directional pad, and enemies are targetted with a tap on the touch screen. The camera will lock onto the targetted enemy or object until the target's unlocked or simply destroyed by Will's firepower. Players can fire weapons and activate gadgets either by the system buttons or, better yet, via on-screen buttons so that players don't have to leave the touch screen. Shoulder buttons are used for rotating the camera for when you're not locked onto an object. Obviously with your hand off the system it'll make it difficult to hit the other shoulder button to rotate the camera the other way, which is why the developers added a virtual shoulder button on-screen to do the job. If that's not enough, simply tapping the L button will snap the camera in the direction Wilbur's facing.

The Nintendo DS version actually looks really impressive, offering an incredibly detailed 3D engine running at a fast and smooth 60 frames per second rate on the lower screen. The game is more about action than platforming -- in fact, like in Zelda, players don't have to worry about jumping. Wilbur jumps automatically in context to where he is...whether it's just across a gap in the floor or when he's trying to climb up a ledge.

Outside of the main adventure, players can take part in Charge Ball, a version of a futuristic sport that's a lot like a cross between Breakout and Discs of Tron. This sport can be played against the computer or against another player on a second system. It's not a bad diversion, offering a quick pick-up-and-play competition that's not easy to dominate.

via ign

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