Astro Boy is a little robot, a sort of freaky Japanese techno Pinocchio. He's been around since the late '50s in some form or another, and now his little jet boots have carried him onto the PS2. Unfortunately, we can only hope that those vertical take-off feet carry him away again just as quickly. It pains us to say that, not because we're closet fans of the little cybernetic freak, but because we're fond of Japan, and would still like to be able to go there after this review.

After a brief tutorial we take to the skies in search of action. We're still looking. The first glimpse of the city looks promising: a friendly sci-fi vista stretches into the distance; air-cars pootle about and worries of enother formulaic platformer fade into the pastel blue sky. However, after a few minutes it all starts to go very, very wrong. Invisible walls surround the not-so-open city and a sparse population wander the streets. Embarking on our first mission, the true nature of the game becomes apparent - you talk to someone, then you go somewhere, talk some more, wander over an invisible line, trigger a cut-scene... and so on.

Even when a sub-mission can be found - only two or three of the dozen or so populace have anything for you - they're tedious events. We wasted precious minutes of our life trying to find a lost dog by comparing various combinations of the word "Woof" appearing on the screen. As each canine vocalisation staggered into view with all the charm of a booze-soaked clown, we wanted to find the dog, if only to drown it and gain closure on the whole sorry event. By far the 'highlights' of the game are the boss fights. But even these consist of holding down lock and attack till it's all over. The only drama arises when ever so occasionally the enemy shakes off your targeting - the excitement of having to press the lock button twice was almost too much for us to stand.

Astro Boy is a painful experience. Missions are fragmented, and you'll quite often find yourself left hanging with no apparent path of progression. If you're still interested after the umpteenth person in the game says, "I don't know, Astro Boy, why don't you ask him instead?" then you might have great fun with this. The rest will find it simple and slow.

Graphics 40%
Basic environments and inhabitants.

Sound 30%
Muzac played in the lift to hell.

Gameplay 30%
Shattered into pieces.

Lifespan 40%
Only because it's sloooow.

Overall 30%
Ignoring the slow conversations and the mindless baby-simple boss battles, Astro Boy would still be classed as a bad game.