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DREAMCAST REVIEW: MAX STEEL

Ughh... You know a review isn't going to be favorable when it starts with a sound effect groan. Let me say this right off the mark: Max Steel is intended for immature audiences only. Of course, the kiddies who are glued to the CG TV show every week, will probably soil themselves on the way to picking this one up at the store. Unfortunately, they'll soil themselves even more when they realize how rancid this game is. Treyarch who pulled off some amazing work with Tony Hawk 1 & 2 on the DC, seem to be perfectly capable of enhancing other development teams jewels (Neversoft originally developed Tony), but they fall flat on their butts with this haphazard effort. Max Steel is Fighting Force 2, with prettier light sourced weapons. In fact, the best thing about this game was the cool looking weapons. Too bad you couldn't actually hit the broad side of a barn with one of them. I have found that, and funny as this may seem, pretty sparkly weapons are useless when you can't aim. And Max Steel can't aim at all.

"Mattel probably cares less about Max Steel than I do, and that's just downright sad."

The idea of infiltrating a secret area filled with enemies is par for the course video game fodder, so you can't fault Max Steel for paying attention to tried and true plot devices. However, it's the unbearable repetition of said task that will drive you over the edge. This game is all about moving from one room to the next, killing enemies with your kicks and punches, because aiming a weapon is a chancy endeavor. Most of the puzzle elements (cough..) are of the "find the colored code key variety" to unlock the door. "Kick, punch, it's all in the mind, Open the door, with the key you find!" Thanks Master Chop Chop...

The game actually looks decent enough, runs at a decent frame rate and the environments actually look quite nice. Except that you'll soon discover that, like the gameplay, the environments are recycled throughout the entire game. This turns the entire game play experience into "Ground Hog Day" with Max Steel. Enough already.

If you are a real Max Steel fan, then you might get something out of this. Max Steel is all about selling toys, not selling you an experience. Remember in the good old days (way before my time) when cartoons and TV shows were made because they were cool ideas and not because they could be slapped onto a back pack or underwear? Max Steel is as cold and unfeeling as The Power Rangers, Power Puff Girls and whatever other marketing creations are out on toy store shelves right now. Think of it this way, when Spiderman goes through a slump in popularity for a few years, does Marvel Comics dump him in favor of Internet Man? No. But when Max Steel drops off in a few months, Mattel will be calling emergency meetings with their R & D teams, trying to come up with something new and cool....like Internet Man! Mark my words. Mattel probably cares less about Max Steel than I do, and that's just downright sad.

System: DC
Dev: Treyarch
Pub: Mattel
Released: Nov 2000
Players: 1
Review by Angel
OVERALL
2
GRAPHICS
3.5
CONTROL
2
MUSIC/FX
3
VALUE
2