BIONICLE HEROES

The cover inspires images of Aliens … you know, where Sigourney Weaver is almost nose-to-overbite with the alien monster that likes to bring new meaning to upset stomach. But that movie is a far cry from the Lego robots that you will find in BIONICLE HEROES, a shooter title that is repetitious, features an over-the-shoulder perspective, and automatic targeting and is relatively easy to play. And if you are looking for something along the lines of Lego Star Wars, look elsewhere - BIONICLE HEROES is a not quite on that level.

The title is from Eidos and takes place on the island of Voya Nui. The Piraka have invaded the island, mutated some of the otherwise peaceful inhabitants and it falls to you, the hero, to set things right and return the island to a peaceful state. That’s the story in a nutshell. From that point on you will traverse six elemental-themed landscapes, which coincide with the elemental masks you can find and use for different attacks, destroying Lego-like objects and monsters until you stumble across the boss. The boss usually has some kind of shield that must be whittled down.

Your health is tied to the elemental masks and when a mask is depleted of health, you lose it and its attacks. That might be bad news, depending on the boss you are fighting, and what attacks work best.

The object is to defeat the six Piraka, recover the Mask of Light, and bask in the glory of beating the game.

Unfortunately, while the first level is moderately entertaining, the game soon becomes very repetitious. You enter a zone, use the auto target feature that the game employs (much to its detriment) to demolish anything that isn’t nailed down. Doing so spills forth a fountain of Lego blocks, which are the currency of the game. Collect enough and you enter “hero mode,” an invincible stage where you take no damage but can certainly deal it out. The problem here is that if you collect the pieces, open the right chests and so on, you can be invincible at precisely the right moments – the boss battles.

“You the boss? You are about to find out who’s your daddy!”

There are other pluses to the game and to collecting the Legos. You can go to a store, of sorts and upgrade (this is all back at your home base), or enter Piraka Playground, to watch defeated Piraka build sand castles, or bask in the glory of your trophy room. There are also bonus levels, in which the goal is just to slaughter as many minions as possible in a set time frame.

The game itself is not that bad – the first time you play through a stage. There are some puzzles involved, but you actually don’t have to do much other than hold down a mouse button until the Lego pieces fit together and spew forth a fountain of collectible currency pieces. The repetition really sets in when you hit stage 2 and realize there are four more to follow.

The environments are fine, but lack anything that is exciting. The game definitely lacks any wow factor, and that includes in the animation and character design. The graphical quality is not bad, and some effects are decently rendered out. Some of the masks have alternative uses, like the white mask’s ability to zoom and snipe – which is about the only time you will control the targeting in the game. As for sound, the game has some, but it is mostly environment effects and a few grunts. The narrative at the start of the game is about all there is to voiced dialogue.

BIONICLE HEROES is definitely a simplistic effort. The game does not provide much in terms of a challenge, the story is rudimentary and kept underscored, the visual are decent, but the sound is minimal. This is a game that may well be suited for younger players, but when the game lacks anything that is close to a challenge and mostly involves doing the same thing over and over, even younger gamers may have a hard time in terms of attention span.

Gameplay: 6.0
Target, shoot, collect, repeat … then put together some Lego structures by holding down the right mouse button, while wearing the right mask, and then go back to the target, shoot and collect part. Thanks to the “hero mode” the game does not provide much of a challenge, either in terms of gameplay elements or mentally.

Graphics: 7.0
The Legos are decent, there is a lack of bump mapping that is not overly disguised and gives the game, while 3D, a bit of a flat feel. 

Sound: 5.5
There is not a lot here.

Difficulty: Easy
With auto targeting and hero mode, the challenge has been taken out of the game.  

Concept: 5.5
The story is simple and does not evolve … nor does the gameplay elements.

Overall: 6.0
Give the dev team props for the look of the game, but detract points from the score for the repetition and lack of substantial game elements, like puzzles and story. Unless you are a die-hard Lego fan, this is probably one to pass on.