Reboot is a very enjoyable game, whether you’re a fan of the television series or not. For those who have not seen the show, it’s about a group of people who live inside a computer and have to protect the mainframe from intrusions like viruses and people playing games. The main character is the guardian of the mainframe, Bob.
In the PlayStation version of the game, Bob moves effortlessly aboard his Zipboard, trying to rid the mainframe of tears that sap it of its energy.
Control is accurate as you get the hang of the physics of the zipboard, sort of a flying skateboard, quickly and that helps to immerse the player in this virtual world. Reboot is player-friendly, in the sense that while the objectives are challenging they are not impossible to complete.
Aiming and firing at enemies is a snap – you are not killed attempting to execute a task that the character Bob would find easy, like shooting something.
Instead, the fun is in outsmarting, avoiding and evading enemies while on the path to eliminating the energy tears. You have to use your head when trying to find – and then reach – the tears that appear. Imaginative placement of tears by the designers will have you scratching your noggin and muttering, "How do I get up THERE?"
Once you rid one sector of the energy sappers you have time to explore and find "glitch power-ups." Of particular interest is the anti-virus power-up which, when used, makes your enemies attack each other!
As you move on to the subsequent sectors you find that each one presents distinctly different environments and challenges. As you progress so does the AI of the enemies you face.
Careful and thoughtful use of your collected power-ups are necessary the longer you survive.
This game is an almost perfect blend of intellect and action. The success-to-failure ratio is good – you always want to play "one more time." The game moves swiftly and the environments and audio truly add to the illusion that you are inside a computer world.
We would love to see a sequel written for PlayStation 2 which will have more ram and a more powerful cpu and gpu. Imagine this game taking advantage of hi-res graphics and Sony’s new dual shock analog controller!
Reboot was crying out for a game to go along with the game-playing stars of the show. Thankfully, this program does it justice. Based on the popularity of the show and the quality of the game, it should do well at the stores.