Preview: Cosmo Bots [by Retro64]

Preview: Cosmo Bots Developer: Retro64 Genre: Action / Puzle Website:  (not available yet)  Release: 4th Quarter 2004

Game Tunnel recently got a chance to look at Retro64's upcoming puzzle/action game Cosmobots, and we're back fresh from playing it to give you a little bit of info about this surefire hit game from Retro64.

Retro64 specializes in taking older concepts, like breakout and space invaders and making them over into newer games that carry the spirit on into a new generation while adding a lot of personality and depth that wasn't available in the original game. Cosmo Bots continues that tradition by remaking the arcade classic Qix. For those who haven't ever played or maybe even heard of Qix you are in for a treat. For those who did play that classic you'll be amazed at how much more involved and how many interesting and cool features Retro64 has added to that old game.

The basic concept behind Qix was for you to take a shape and fill it in a little at a time until you reached the percentage needed to pass onto the next level. You controlled an object in the middle that would create either vertical or horizontal walls by sending out a wall in either direction, and when those walls both touched the sides of previously existing walls, then the area that was enclosed would fill in. So for example, if the level was square you could move to the middle and create either two vertical or two horizontal walls that would leave you in opposite directions until they came in contact with the outer walls. Once they came in contact with the outer walls, one half of the area would fill in leaving you to go and fill in the last half by creating more walls in different locations.

Of course it sounds easy, but that is because I've only explained the most simple of portions of the game. Beyond making the walls, there were plenty of obstacles to get into your way. There were many items on the level that bounced around and if they came into contact with your wall while it was being created, then it would keep your wall from completing and destroy your character.

It may not sound like much, but trust me, Qix was a game that sucked away many people's time including mine as I played it extensively on the Atari Lynx handheld system.

Cosmo Bots takes the game concept much farther. The graphics in Cosmo Bots seem rather similar to Reflexive's Ricochet and that is perhaps intentional and definitely a plus for us as they are fantastic to look at and make the game look absolutely fantastic. In addition to the much improved graphics several interesting power-ups have been included to make the game deeper in play and it really worked well in the version of the game that we were able to play.

More interestingly, many of the different enemies that have been added to the game are not only graphically pleasing but also quite varied in a way that provides a large amount of challenge that extends beyond simple button mashing. In fact there is enough strategy involved in the game I liken a bit more to a puzzle game than to an action game, perhaps to the chagrin of the developer.  The challenge itself I found to be just right in our incomplete version. The game gave me plenty of reasons to keep coming back without ever making me feel overmatched.

Cosmo Bots is due out later this year and looks to be one of the better puzzle or action games of the year, depending on how you look at it. Either way Cosmo Bots is likely to be one of the most addictive games released this year. For those who missed Qix, Cosmo Bots will be a great game to check out. For those who didn't miss Qix, you won't want to miss Cosmo Bots either.