User Reviews (1 - 11 of 17)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

fun versus mode, slow story mode

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Upon playing RAD for the first time, my brother and I immediately started "versus" mode and had an absolute blast...we each controlled huge, lumbering robots and tried our best to beat the pulp out of one another. We quickly learned, however, that our fighting skills were only half the battle. You see, your viewpoint of the fighting is from that of a little character running around the city...you're character is supposedly "controlling" the robot. Getting a good vantage point of the battle is key...with buildings in your way and debris falling all over the place, keeping your little character out of harm's way can be quite tricky. And while you move your character to the best place available, your robot is completely vulnerable...so you have to manage two characters at once...it's a lot of hectic fun.

The "story mode" for this game, however, can be tough to endure. Long sequences of tangential, repetitive dialog that can't be skipped are intermixed with some long cut scenes and bad voice acting.

Having said that, I just completed the story mode and found that it got less annoying the farther I progressed through the game. There are 50+ episodes of robot battles and story, and though the in-game story has a lot of holes and irrelevant plot threads, it does get exciting about 2/3 of the way through, when your robot takes on a life of his own. It reminded me very much of GIANT ROBO and THE BIG O. Unfortunately, the plodding, unavoidable narrative of the story is the biggest drawback of the game. Minus one star, at least.

If you have someone to play against, this game will provide hours of a unique, robot fighting gameplay with original controls (I recommend going through the tutorial) and enjoyable interactivity. But if you're only going to play this in single player mode, you might want to rent it first. The fighting is still great, but the story you have to endure can be bothersome.

Assault Knuckle fire!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Robot Alchemic Drive (R.A.D.) is a fun, exciting, and revolutionary "Mecha" game. Why? Read on.

In R.A.D. you assume the role of a young "hero" who is called upon to pilot a "giant robot" to save the world from an invasion of alien "giant robots." You begin with simple training exercises, and proceed through missions that gradually increase in difficulty as you master the controls of your robot and use funds earned from defeating other robots to increase the abilities of your machine.

First, I will touch on what is bad about this game. The voice-overs are terrible. I am tempted to say they were done tongue-in-cheek to remind those of my generation of the terrible voice acting we saw in giant robot cartoons (Tranzor Z anyone?), but there is nothing to indicate that this is supposed to be funny. If the dialog were more over-the-top, as in Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee, that would be fine. As it is, it is just poorly done and very amateurish.

Another bad part is the constant interferance of plot elements into the game's action scenes. Nothing is more irritating when trying to move your hero or robot and you get stuck half-way through because an annoying pop-up box shows up to "keep you informed" on what is happening in the game. Bad idea. Keep the pop-up, but don't let it pause the action...

Finally, and most annoying, is that there is NO way to skip over plot scenes or FMV pieces. The best you can do is hold down START to speed them up, but even so, this is extremely irritating.

Having said that, once you get into the action, this game is incredible! The blurb on the box basically tells you that you will feel like you are in the game, and they are right. The sense of being in (partial) control of a gigantic, cumbersome, giant robot is very convincing. The control scheme, complicated as it is, is what drives this sense -- you basically use the L and R buttons to move your robot, the D-pad to move its torso, the analog sticks to move the respective arms, and the buttons for energy/projectile attacks and changing forms (which most giant robots do, of course...).

Another great innovation is that the robot is controlled from your hero's perspective, not from a first or third-person view. This adds the elements of manuevering your hero to a good position to control the robot, while having to worry about getting stomped on yourself!

The end result is a control scheme that is the best I have ever seen for any given game. It is a near-perfect match of simulation and arcade style play.

The actual action scenes are varied in scope, and provide numerous challenges other than beating your opponent. Choice of battleground and weaponry is important, because one wrong step and you have crushed civilians (or your hero), ruined buildings, and so on. Plot elements are affected as well -- destroy your friend Nanao's workplace, and her lifestyle deteriorates accordingly while she hunts for new work.

In conclusion, While the dialog and story elements can be irritating, I base my rating on the "Fun" factor of the game. I highly recommend this game for anyone who enjoys giant robots, mecha, or action games. Gameplay is fun and challenging, with high replay value. Two players can also go head-to-head to see who is the best robot driver.

Can't wait for a sequel!

The Ultimate MECH-ROMP!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Don't listen to the other review whatever you do, becuase if you do you would have missed out on the greatest mech game yet. The game as you probably know is just plain revolutionary. It uses the analog sticks to control the arms, and the L and R Buttons to control the legs, while giving you the perspective of the young man or woman that you play. There are three Mecha Robots, each with alternate modes, and as a bonus you can also play Almost every other monster etc. after you have beaten it. The game did have some uneven diffuculty, but if you are of the elite mecha robot fans, you will take to the controls after a few missions. Being able to skip the cinemas and transmissions would have been nice, but you may fast-forward. The voice-acting and dialogue is mostly horrible, but it was done to capture the Japanese dubbing of The older Japanese Giant-Robot films. The graphics for people and mechs are great, the mechs are the best I have seen in a game, EAT THAT X BOX j/k however the surroundings could have used some work as they look sort of plain sometimes and the tries are a little pop-uppy, but it's all good. I love this game, I did from the first play of the demo at Sam Goody, buy this game, love the game, love it for it's flaws and pros. Do it for yourself or one you love!!!

Giant robots that feel...well GIANT!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The Great - For once, you can play a giant mecha game where the mecha truly feel GIANT. From their earth shaking steps, to the building destruction, these mechs feel HUGE! The graphics for the mecha are also fantastic, and some great camera work on perspective. TONS of replay value with 3 different characters, 3 different mechs and 51 missions each!

The Good - The controls are awkward when you get started, but you do get used to them.

The Not So Good - Some of the battles seem a little repetitve.

The Horrible - The voice actors should be strung up by their toes

Overall though, worth every penny! This is a definite "Buy it" title, and not a rental due to the immense amount of replay value.

Oh, Man. What a game!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I wasnt sure about picking up this game or not. I had my reservations. But I always liked the Voltron series as a kid & this robot looks just like Voltron. To say the least this is the best Monster/Robot fighting game I have ever seen!! There are 57 missions total. You get money to upgrade your Mech. Theres 3 different mechs to upgrade with different types of weapons & armor. The Animation graphics are nearly flawless & are perfect when showcasing the robots battling it out. The controls are nice. You get help periodcally through the game. This is great. Instead of having to go back & read the tutorial it's handed right to me!!

Theres a lot of strategy involved considering the person controling the mech isn't inside The gigantic frame of the robot. This means you must find a safe place to hide or you might get squashed in the action. Also, you need to get into a clear view to see your mech fighting. I like the fact that you can ride on the mechs soulder, but if he goes down you take damage. The waterfront scenes are spectacular. The way your mech rises from the depth, moving the water with every gigantic step. I will get more mech games like silent line, Armored core 3, & ZOE 2. I am now hooked on the Mech genre

The controls are nice & real life. Robots do move slow & have a clumsy klanking sounds but that adds to the authentity of the game. I feel it adds to the game play. Building get demolished but not in the WOFM fashion. The building are bland & generic. But it's still fun to knock stuff down. Your mech gets upgrades automatically when you advance ala MC2.

The downfall is the voice acting. It sucks. I wish the characters would move their lips when speaking & wish I didn't have to press a button after a character completes a sentence. I also don't like the fact that when your character runs through the streets of the city there are no cars or people. People only rush the streets when a Robot is stomping the city. All in all the flaws are minor & has no effect on the gameplay.

If you like this game I suggest you pick up War of the Monsters. That game has better building destruction with great detail & lighting..

Fun with a couple of tweaks

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've always been a huge fan of mecha and giant robot games and movies. This game is just another splash in that big genre. While the gameplay is engaging players will often find themselves mired down by REALLY BAD Anime cutscenes that you cannot skip no matter what. Square Enix has broke through with the amazing scale on which this new game was made. THE ROBOTS ARE literally STORIES tall and your character is often in danger of getting romped by his own machine. The only frustrating thing about the game play is the Character/Robot interaction. The View is centered through the eyes of your little character. This can get really annoying if the building your standing on is knocked down or if the fight falls behind some buildings out of view. Its also impossible to orient your character with his enemy so that he can deliver hits. I advise renting this game and playing it for the vs playing value that it can bring on a friday night.

Frustratingly fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've played a LOT of games, and have always found that the best games are the ones that make me so mad that I throw my controller across the room and smash it to pieces. I've repaired more controllers than I can count. However, R.A.D. makes me want to throw my controller for a different reason. Just as mention in the other reviews, the plot and mid-fight conversations are not only mind-numbing, but frustrating to no end. But to make it even worse, the voice actors are monotone, making the story even less interesting, and irritating to sit through (when forced to). One character in particular (Mika Banhara) is voiced by a Japanese woman, that basically screams monotone Engrish. It shatters the ears. My conclusion is that the actors were given a list of 1 to 10 word phrases to say, with no idea what they were talking about, and it came out all sorts of wrong. Characters screaming in agony can sound like a sigh of relief. The character Ellen falls victim to this constantly. The picture of the character will be blushing happily, while the voice actor is screaming angrily.

Besides all that stuff though, the game is a HUGE step forward in Mech games. I bought it expecting it to be something like Rampage for the Sega Master System. And the controls seemed intimidating at first. I've played all the levels, and still don't have complete control, but it's still a blast. the walking can get frustrating, and you really gotta be coordinated to navigate tight city streets. But the real cornerstone of this game is the Arm control. The anolog sticks provide control that takes very little thought. Whatever way you move the sticks is the way the arms move (to a degree). You can't to ANYTHING you want, but the difference between an uppercut and a jab don't require any real thought. And as you progress you learn mroe powerful moves than can toss an enemy into the stratosphere. My favorite moves are the ones that send enemys flying backward through 5 buildings.

A lot fo people compare this game to Voltron, but I think it's much more like Power Rangers. The similarity to past Zords and monsters is undeniable. The characters move almost the same way as well. Sometimes fights end too fast though. I could sit there all day pummeling the same alien.

Tons of fun to play, once you get through the plot. EXCELLENT 2 player mode.

best game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: February 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

it has alot of action and destrotion. i love destroing stuff in games. it realy got me hooked.

Stunk

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 14
Date: January 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Don't get this game it is so boring I tried it and hated it. The controls are so annyoying, you have to press r2 and L2 just to step and you have to hold R1 to turn and ..., I mean its terrible and another bad thing is the view. If your lookin for a game like robotech or mech warriors this is not for you. I mean who needs a game where if you get to close to the robot it steps on u and if you are too far away you can lose it behind a building and could be going backwards and you don't notice. It is so stupid. Please do yourself a favor, don't ever get this game.

fun fun fun all around

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

the grafics are great and so is the game(the game is a little better than the grafics).

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions