Orbiting the planet is an enormous new threat to mankind. Dubbed “Colossatron”, this giant robot snake is ready to come crashing down at a moment’s notice, laying siege to cities across the globe as its power (and length) constantly increases to staggering proportions, doing millions of dollars in damages. Who can stop this menace?
Not you; you’re the one in the driver’s seat!
“Colossatron! Merge for the Kill!”
Perhaps “driver’s seat” isn’t entirely accurate, though. Colossatron moves autonomously along its path of destruction, but you still play a part in aiding its destruction of the Earth-esque planet’s cities by dragging a variety of modular weapon segments, or “Powercores”, to join the beast’s body.
There is a certain element of strategy at play here, albeit a mild one, as you try to decide whether you want to put priority over length or girth (stop laughing, please). The colorful Colossatron is largely comprised of these modules, which double as its health meter, and by dragging more to merge with it in various ways, you can initiate differing results.
By lining up Powercores of the same color in a row, you’ll increase Colossatron’s length, potentially to such proportions that it won’t even fit on the screen without coiling around itself. Place different colors along side each other, and they’ll combine to form new colors: Yellow and blue making green, red and yellow making orange, and so on. And if you can line up several of the same color, those units will combine into a more powerful version of that color with new abilities unlocked.
Destroying capitals allows you to further enhance your destructive capabilities with new moves such as charge attacks, destructive roars, or even regeneration.
Can’t We All Just Get A-Long(er Mech)?
There really isn’t much more to Colossatron than that, simply making sure that it has a steady supply of Powercores to keep it going, and occasionally triggering other abilities. Everything else is in its own… er, hands as the military’s General Moustache does his darnedest to throw everything in the defense budget at the monstrosity in the hopes of bringing it down (take solace in the fact that if they succeed, Colossatron takes everyone nearby with it).
If there is any real problem to speak of, it’s that keeping track of Colossatron becomes a real bear as you advance through each stage. Things begin easy enough, but by the end, so many military units are piling on and there is so much gunfire and explosions that actually keeping track of your mech and its Powercores can be difficult, making it tough to find where new Powercores are best suited to keep the beast alive. Put simply, your odds of dying are increased by virtue of not being able to see through the fracas.
The graphics and sound are nice, giving the whole thing a rather comic book or Saturday morning cartoon-ish feel. The character designs, while not outstanding, still look good, and if you’re a fan of mecha, then Colossatron’s design pleases as well.
Snake Eyes
In the end, Colossatron is simple, frantic fun. It’s not particularly deep, nor does it need to be, but there is enough of an element of strategy and customization to keep the player feeling involved in what could otherwise seem like a rather passive experience.
