Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
A year ago, at Captivate 08, Spyborgs, the Wii exclusive brawler, was a puzzling mix of Saturday morning television commercials and mini-games. Now, at Captivate 09, Capcom’s mega showcase event in Monaco, Spyborgs looks very different. It’s dumped the commercials and mini-games and focused in on the action, and it’s all the better for it.
Spyborgs is being developed by Bionic Games, a Los Angeles studio made up of former Insomniac developers who worked on the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance titles. It looks, for all intents and purposes, like Final Fight might if it had been updated for the Wii and spliced with one of those kids cartoon shows imported from the US. The Spyborgs are a crack team of cybernetically enhanced super agents, three strong, who go up against a former team mate gone rogue. The art style has readjusted itself so it’s sitting on the grittier side of the Pixar fence, and its combat system is an uncomplicated fusion of combos and finishers.
On show at Captivate 09 was a short level set in some kind of enemy-controlled factory that eventually finished in a spectacular boss fight. Of the three characters in the game, two were playable: the nimble sexpot Clandestine and the gorilla robot Bouncer. It comes as some relief to discover that basic attacks don’t involve waggling. Instead, the B button light attacks, the C button heavy attacks, Z blocks and A jumps. Each character has contextual finishers, only available once a gauge is full, that change depending on the enemy they’re up against. To do them, you need to hold block, wait for the enemy to flash, then flick the Wii Remote to juggle them, then follow the on-screen motion prompt to do the finisher. Bouncer’s finisher, for example, sees him chuck his hapless victim into the air then jump, grab them and come crashing down piledriver style. The finishers are massively satisfying, and feel meaty.
The basic attacks and finishers will be enough to get you through the game, but more discerning gamers, and Capcom insists Spyborgs is a game as much for hardcore Wii owners as it is for more typical Wii owners, will want to indulge in the game’s coolest feature: cooperative attacks. Here, holding block then waggling the Nunchuck will “ask” your team mate to agree to a team attack. To answer yes, all they have to do it follow an on-screen motion prompt. Then the action switches to what looks like the Holodeck in default mode. The game then asks both players to flick the Wii Remote and the Nunchuck in a direction – if successful, the team attack will trigger. Clandestine might chuck the enemy into the air and Bouncer finishes them off with a heavy attack. There will be loads of these in the final game, unlocked as you gain experience. The satisfaction that comes with pulling off a team attack is what’s best about Spyborgs. It’s what will keep players interested as they soldier through.
There are lots of crates to destroy. And by lots, I mean tons. This shouldn’t surprise anyone: crates are of course a hallmark of the Ratchet & Clank series. But what’s interesting is that you’re able to pull objects into the world with the Wii Remote like a fishing rod. Holding A allows you to “paint” the environment with the pointer, revealing hidden objects and power ups with a Predator-style view called Spy Vision, then reel them in, allowing you to interact with them. So, for example, you might see a platform in the distance with some enemies lying in wait on it. Paint it, reveal a dynamite crate then pull it into the world to set it off, doing damage to the enemies before you reach them. Clever.
Spyborgs feels like solid, no-nonsense fun, especially in coop (which is drop in and out, by the way). The game doesn’t have you waggling left right and centre every five seconds, which is a godsend. When it does it’s simple, for the most part responsive and is satisfying. The graphics, however, are what impress the most. Capcom says there’s a whole host of supposedly “next-gen” effects at play, including reflection, bloom and distortion. The fire effects look particularly nice, as does the boss battle against a giant robot (more on that later), a scene reminiscent of so many Capcom games.
Indeed Spyborgs is, by Capcom’s own admission, an attempt to give Wii owners what they want: a quality game from the famed Japanese company. Everything about its re-unveiling at Captivate 09 seemed focused on getting that message across. This is a game with an art style that’s deliberately designed not to alienate any particular demographic, but with a graphical quality that will appeal to those who know that the Wii is well capable of coping with more than it usually has to deal with.
In fact, everything you’d expect from the genre is recreated, including combo unlocking and big boss battles. The one on show demonstrated how Spyborgs will allow you to tackle its end of level bosses in unique ways. The camera shifts to a wide angle and a giant robot appears in the background as the two heroes fight it off on a helipad on top of a roof building. Bouncer’s able to punch cars that the robot chucks at him right back at the mechanised monstrosity. You’re able to destroy its limbs, too, on your way to reducing the whole thing to rubble. The fight is unmistakeably epic, as far as boss battles in Wii games go, with an impressive level of graphical detail (the fiery city landscape that rages in the background is particularly eye-catching).
There can be no argument: Spyborgs is better now that the team’s had a change of heart. Comparisons with Devil May Cry and God of War are ill-advised, but for Wii-owning Capcom fans it’s a promising step in the right direction.
Spyborgs is due out for the Wii this year.
