Battle 3D: Robots Sky Review

Monday, October 10, 2011

Battle 3D: Robots Sky Review

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Battle 3D: Robots Sky Review

By Rob Rich on October 10th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: CRASH AND BURN
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Robots, aliens, upgrades, experience and explosions! And a wonky camera and awkward controls…

Developer: Naomicsoft
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS
Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 2.25 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.19 out of 5 stars

I feel as though there aren’t nearly enough 3D mech action games on the App Store. I know there are some, certainly, but I want more. So Battle 3D: Robots Sky definitely caught my eye. Unfortunately, it’s just not quite up to par.

There’s a bit of a story here, but as with most action games it plays second fiddle to the… well, to the action. And the action is indeed where it’s at. Kind of. Battle 3D: Robots Sky follows a freemium model, which is odd for a paid game, but money (a.k.a “braves”) can be spent to purchase new robots or upgrade existing ones, as well as bought with real money.

I’ll admit, Battle 3D: Robots Sky is a pretty good-looking game. There’s a fair amount of detail on the main ‘bots, and most of the enemies are distinct. There’s also a constant sense of progression as blowing up aliens nets experience that grants access to new gear and “braves” can be used to purchase as well as upgrade vehicles.

The problem is, everything starts to fall apart during the actual gameplay. I wasn’t lying when I said it’s a pretty good-looking game… in the stills. In motion, there’s an awful lot of slowdown. Another problem is that neither of the two camera angles are all that helpful. The “first-person” camera isn’t actually first-person, and it spins around more than a drunk riding a tilt-a-whirl. I wish I were kidding, but playing from that perspective is honestly nauseating. The zoomed-out third-person camera is better since it doesn’t rotate, but it’s zoomed in too close to be useful. Even then, the pop-in and draw-distance issues are blatant. To put it another way; I’ve had trouble completing some missions because I couldn’t actually find the enemies I was supposed to destroy.

It’s hard to give up on Battle 3D: Robot Sky. It’s definitely got some great ideas and systems in place, but having to fight the camera or wander aimlessly until accidentally head-butting an enemy got in the way of me having any real fun with it. With some tweaks this could be a solid mech action game, but as it is now it feels like more of a broken-down wreck.