Game Review: DodoGo! Robo (DSiWare)

In DodoGo! Robo, a new downloadable game for DSiWare, it’s your job to safely guide some robot dodo eggs to a finish line in each level. These eggs will continue hopping and rolling and will only turn around when they hit a wall, so it’s a bit like Lemmings, really. Using the DS stylus, you’ll draw planks, springs, and other tools to keep your eggs safe.

When a level starts, the egg won’t move until you hit the ‘play’ button. This is your time to draw planks, springs, and other tools to guide the egg to the finish. Each level gives you a limited amount of tools to use, so place them wisely. Watch out for pits, spikes, and other dangers, and don’t let your egg fall too far either. Luckily, if you do mess up, you can tap the ‘stop’ button and redo the level until you get it right.

Along the way, you can make your egg collect special target icons strewn throughout the level. Collect them all to increase your medal ranking for each stage. It’s also important to collect these icons as you can only unlock the later stages when you have enough. Sometimes, figuring out ways to nab all the targets is more challenging than finishing the level itself.

There are a few problems with the game, though. Most of the time, play control is very easy to figure out, but some actions, like adjusting your spring trajectory, aren’t as intuitive. Hit detection is a little off, too. You might think your egg ran over that last target, but it really didn’t. And speaking of which, the game requires you to collect too many of those darn targets before moving on too far in the game. That should’ve been just an extra side challenge, I think.

But for only 200 points (about 2 bucks), it’s a reasonably priced download. Might be a good, cheap game to snag for your DSi before taking your family on a road trip or something.

Kid Factor:

Kids will love the simple graphics and easy to grasp gameplay. Reading skill is helpful, but not required as the in-game instructions have picture cues as well. The game gets challenging pretty quickly, so younger gamers and less experienced players may need help even early on. Nothing violent or objectionable either. If your egg falls too far, it just makes a funny face and dissolves like Pac-Man and that’s it. DodoGo! Robo is rated E for Everyone.

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