Voltron: Defender of the Universe – Review
Platform | Release Date
PS3 | November 29, 2011
360 | November 30, 2011
Developed by Behaviour Interactive
Published by THQ
The Pitch:
Voltron is back! Live out your childhood fantasies by playing as the Space Explorers, Lions, and as Voltron! Voltron: Defender of the Universe game is a re-mastered Voltron experience with high definition graphics and audio that will deliver high impact, real-time single and multi-player game play experience with up to five players. Re-live the most defining moments from the classic 80’s series, including the discovery of the Lions and the very first time the Space Explorers form Voltron. Battle the evil forces of King Zarkon in a quest for justice and galactic peace. Journey across the varied environments on and around planet Arus. Get ready to Activate interlock! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Mega thrusters are go! LET’S GO VOLTRON FORCE!
In the 1980’s, my Saturday mornings consisted of a healthy dose of Transformers, Voltron, G.I. Joe, He-Man and Thundercats. There were a few other choices but these were the most memorable and remain a part of my life in one form or another. I’ve purchased two Voltron toys for two year old son in anticipation of being able to educate him on how great the 80’s were for cartoons and toys. The box said “Ages 15+” on one, but I am in this relationship for the long haul, so I can wait it out. Your relationship with Voltron: Defender of the Universe will no doubt be over before you would be capable of watching a single episode of the television series.
King Zarkon is causing trouble again for the Galaxy’s Alliance and you are called upon take out the trash. Prince Lotor and the evil witch Haggar are along for the ride, though like other prominent characters, their cameos are exclusively a cartoon clip affair. Five lions are at your disposal, each with varying capabilities and special powers. Unfortunately they all feel so similar that it lacks the definitive identity of the pilots that the cartoon portrayed so well.
“Wonderful!” was not a phrase I expected Keith to yell out as I ran through the single player campaign while piloting the black lion. Quite a bit was a surprise in fact, and not in a positive way. Much of the playtime has you piloting one of the five lions that would, in theory, allow you to eventually combine with the other four to form Voltron. In practice though, you spend far too much time running and flying around environments lacking any sort of interesting elements whatsoever, doing things that don’t seem to matter much, which is not a good sign for a hero usually dealing with problems on a much grander scale.
A guilty pleasure of mine while watching the series was waiting to see what the next Robeast would look like. These confrontations usually ended in spectacular fashion with the opposition split in two. In all, you face three of these behemoths, and in a perfect world you would be wielding your Blazing Sword to go toe-to-toe. Instead your control consists of mostly quick time events to select your attack, perform your attack, and defend against the Robeasts onslaught.
The single player campaign revolves around wandering through wooded areas, flying through space, and traversing Planet Doom while dispatching the Drule Empire’s forces. This is especially interesting because the Drule Empire was typically the antagonist of the Vehicle Voltron series and not the Lion Force Voltron one. The only other sighting of Vehicle Voltron was in the ending credits there was a picture in the background which makes me wonder who put this mess together.
Playing with friends does change this formula a bit as you will each rotate between attacking and defending. The person who chooses the attack style will hand the aiming responsibilities over to their cooperative partner. The more lions involved increases the cycling of roles which can be good with people you know, or brutally frustrating for those who just aren’t as versed in the mechanics. I would be lying if I said I was interested in having my friends purchase Voltron to play online together– I couldn’t do that to them.
If you strip away the cartoon series video clips, audio recordings and artwork, you really don’t have much more than a horribly disappointing twin stick shooter attached to a great intellectual property. Your money would be better spent signing up for a free month of Netflix and running a marathon viewing of the seasons available. I can only hope this will be no one’s introduction to Voltron because the brand would be much better served in the hands of those who would be capable of doing it justice.
When you pause the game, having most likely just taken a rest from the game’s constant desire to kick you in the balls, a sample plays “We will return to Voltron after these messages!”, just like in the show. It’s a really great piece of fan service, but unfortunately, this game gave me absolutely no desire to return at all. Time to change the channel.
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Wow, this game sounds abysmal, nice review though.