Bots II Review: Beat ’em Up and Mow them Down
By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), OnRPG Journalist
Gamers have in one form or another been interested in the idea of them taking control of their own robot and beat the crap out of each other. This lead to a solid amount of Robot-centric MMOs flooding the online gaming industry, however there has yet to be a decent browser-based MMO that has to successfully integrate this idea on browser games. Bots II is one of those hopefuls and it would seem that the game has something good to offer us robot fans.
What is Bots II?
To everyone who is into robot MMOs it may seem that BotsII is a spin-off of Acclaims’ Robot themed MMO BOTS. Well, it is not. This is a totally different game and that the idea of BotsII is more of the development and manufacture of your bot so that you can go against other bot creations. The idea on bots getting it on in an arena is already an overused concept. However, it does work for the game because given the limited capabilities browsers have. The robots’ head-to-head battle simplifies the whole game. With competition as the game’s main core, it does away with complexities that can lead to a very irritating gameplay.
How does the game work?
In BOTS II, there are two ways to determine the strength of your bot: through its stats and its equipment. The bot’s stats are similar to what you can usually find in RPGs and MMOs. While the game has a huge library of weapons, equipments and armors, the designs were taken from Diablo II so it is no surprise if you find them looking similar. The game’s RPG tie-in with its stats is one of the things that make a game more entertaining than I originally expected. It gives the added trump card feeling as things may not as easily turn out as expected when you start of the fight.
Battle Proper
Battling in BOTs II is what you would do most of the time so it is very convenient that the game’s battle system is done in real-time. You get to see how the battle goes on as the game informs you almost instantaneously how your bot is faring against the opponent. You do not have to push unlike in other games where each attack should be thought of and activated. Everything is left to how you raised your robot and how well have you managed the stats of your creation and the effectiveness of the equipment you gave it. The real-time feature of the battle system gives life to the game even if it seems dead on the water due to its dull text-based interface.
You will not want to leave your seat whenever your robot is in a battle because you want to see how your creation is coping with someone else’s. Unlike in some games of the same concept, two robots of the same level can have two different battle results because of the RPG-element s the game has. Your robot may win the first time but then lose to the same robot the next time you go head-to-head. The good thing about BOTS II is that the robot’s equipment would not be the one that offsets the balance in a fight because the game sells the same set of equipment for all people. Winning is dictated on how you allocate your stats. There is a wild card in the game however that practically offsets a battle between to imbalanced robots in stats. Luck comes into play, and sometimes even the best made robots can fall prey to a weaker robot out of sheer luck and a little touch of Mr. Murphy on his side.
What makes the game fun?
This gives you all the more reason to stay in the game and try to make the best robot there is. Who in their right mind would not want to have the urge to make a better robot than anyone else right? The game successfully squeezes out the competitive nature in you and as a result you would get to ignore the low-quality graphics the game has. Also, the various battle elements gives your game such more dimension than just ‘I-hit-your-robot-you-hit-back’ game that it makes each battle you go into exciting and to look forward to.
The Downsides
There are some minor issues that the game has however, first would be the color of the texts. Sure, there the various colors of the text during battles is helpful to at least determine how well your robot is damaging its enemy and how hard in turn is it damaging your bot. The problem with that the fonts hurts the eyes when you try to read the especially in a dimly lit room. Furthermore, it gets harder to read when you are in battle because of the constant stream of texts you have to read. You can save yourself the trouble of getting your eyes strained however by not minding the whole thing.
Another downside is that you can’t really multi-task that well if you need to use the browser. I’ve experienced my browser bogging down because I am in a middle of a battle with another robot. This can really prove irritating because you expect that a browser game does not really take too much resources from your computer. So if you decide on getting a little action in BOTS II I suggest you make sure you do not have anything to load in your browser.
Conclusion
BOTS II is a browser-based game that has successfully concentrated on the one thing that can make a robot-themed game work: competition. The idea of setting aside anything fancy and just centering on the one thing that really makes people stick to a game like this is a great idea. The addition of real-time exchanges in each battle makes the game more exciting and enjoyable to play. The game does however have a few setbacks but it is not that big enough to make you stop playing the game. If you are a fan of robot-themed games and you do not really want a text based game that is too easy to pick up and play then I suggest you try BOTS II.
Pros:
– The battles in the game are done in real time and you can see how it goes as it happens
– The game is newbie friendly
– The administrators balances the games out in a constant manner and is open to suggestions from players.
Cons:
– The text colors hurts the eyes
– There’s not much to talk to in the game chat
– You better make sure that your browser is clear from any other apps because the battles puts a heavy strain on your browser.
