User Rating: 7.8 | Custom Robo GC
I have to say that this game took me by surprise. Having played several Armored Core and Mechwarrior games in the past, I was expecting something a little different. When I played the demo in a local retail game outlet booth, I was immediately discouraged. Surely this was not a piloted robot fighting game, but rather an arcade game wearing the guise of such? Yet, I was still curious about how it played in the full version, and that's what rentals are for. My initial impressions were that Custom Robo was a very shallow game, but as I went deeper into the game I realized this was not the case. There's actually a considerable amount of tactics that come to light, and as you play through the story mode you're continually given tips that provide insight into the game that you would otherwise overlook. For example, using the terrain to your advantage to avoid incoming fire is vital. Your main attack actually stops your Custom Robo dead in it's tracks, so you need to plan carefully when to use it. Your secondary attacks of pods and bombs are of major strategic import as well. Dashing about the arena using one of the many movement methods the different Robo frames have to offer is a new experience every time, as is using their individual close range attacks. Ultimately, there's a lot more to this game than may initially meet the eye. Customization is the primary thing that Custom Robo brings to the table. There's only 5 different parts you can swap, those being the basic frame, gun, bomb, pod, and leg enhancement. It would seem immediately that Armored Core has an advantage over Custom Robo here, but Custom Robo does overall have a higher selection of parts available. What's more, these parts generally behave in radically different ways. The base frames are perhaps the most influential choice, and determine everything from base offensive, defensive, maneuverability, and (most interesting) the unique special attack and movement method that frame possesses. You'll find a lot of weird and zany parts along with the more standardized ones as well, and if you've a good sense of humor this is not such a bad thing. This brings me to the story mode. The story mode is very linear, and goes through the day to day adventures of your Commander, a Caucasian male of obvious anime influences. You are given three dialogue choices for every question presented to you, but I don't think they make any lasting differences. You are given some freedom to wander around to the various locations you've uncovered and prod the various characters there for information. This is actually a part of the game which strikes as having impressive detail, as I've found that there will always be new dialogue depending on what day and what time you visit a location. No "times are tough" repetitive typical NPC dialogue here, the developers have actually taken the time to update everybody all the time. I'll not ruin the story by getting too deep into it, but the setting is actually fairly interesting. Apparently the way conflicts are resolved in the world of Custom Robo is people tend to fight it out in Holosseums (short for holographic Colosseum), which often are generated by their own memories. This is why you may encounter a Holosseum that looks like a toy room, for example, because it's originating from the memories of the kid your challenging. You "dive" into these Holloseums when your fighting, so your character's persona is apparently one with the awareness of the Custom Robo he's fighting with, and as a result he can be very mentally fatigued, knocked out, or in certain situations even killed when defeated. There does not appear to be any way to lose the story mode. If you are defeated in battle, a brief dialogue takes place where the consequences of your losing are expressed (usually the victorious foe gloating) and then you suddenly go back in time to right before the battle starts to try again. (Apparently your hero has the fantastic super power nearly all video game heroes do: the ability to go back in time and try again with a saved game.) There's really little "RPG" aspects to it, other than your acquiring additional Custom Robo parts as you defeat your opponents. The story, as it unfolds, becomes relatively involving and you may come to build opinions about the involved the characters. Although it feels very much like an anime cartoon as opposed to a much deeper story. Custom Robo deserves a good recommendation when it comes to value because it has several unlockable features as well as the ability to fight elaborate multiplayer (or single player) Custom Robo battles before and after you've finished the story mine. It's not really a game I can recommend to players who are looking for a Robotic Fighting simulation, but it is a pretty good arcade game for those who like to customize before getting down to the button mashing fun. 
