Platform: Gameboy Advance

Genre: Shooter/RPG

Publisher: Destination Software, Inc.

Developer: NeoPong

ETA: Q1 2004

Related Links:

Review: Bangai-O (Dreamcast)

Review: Ikaruga (Gamecube)

Review: Rez (Playstation 2)

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World Reborn

It’s always fun to do some digging and see just how many ways RPG elements can be squeezed into a game.  I remember back in the 8-bit NES days, when a soccer/RPG hybrid was released for the system.  It was a novel idea, but didn’t exactly fly off store shelves on these shores.  NeoPong has something a little more readily palatable for the gaming masses headed to the Gameboy Advance with World Reborn, a space shooter RPG.

The story is your run of the mill outing where the world is under the grip of a powerful enemy, this time called Biotech, and it’s up to a few staunch pilots to step up to the plate and liberate Earth.  Hopefully there’ll be a bit more meat on the narrative’s bones in the final game.

What does make World Reborn have the potential to stand out is the previously mentioned combination of space shooter and role-playing elements.  The mechanics of the game when the action happens is like that of any space shooter, flying around blasting the bad guys and collecting the power-ups.  The role-playing comes in that players can level up as they collect points for destroying enemy ships.

Players will have four ships and five pilots as they traverse the game, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  Better still is that the game will be non-linear in that one can choose which level they want to go to via a map, instead of going from stage A to B to C and so on.

Features:

* Family Friendly: features no profanity, no sexual content, no blood and gore; parents can buy with ease of mind

* Over 18 exciting levels of game-play: World Reborn features one of the more expansive arrays of levels available in the shooter genre!

* 4 Unique ships and 5 pilots: you choose your preferred combination of piloting style and ship characteristics!

* Multi-linear story unfolds depending on your actions: play the game again and again to find out what happens if you take a different path!

* Map selection system allows you to choose where you want to go next: encourages you to explore and see what’s out there!

* Password system lets you pick up where you left off!

The real challenge facing World Reborn will be combining the shooter and role-playing elements without the whole thing coming off as a gimmick.  We’ll find out how this experiment fairs when the game hits store shelves in early 2004.

Mr. Nash

October 25, 2003