like Mega Man...this is a game you should probably know about. We can enjoy it together.

It�s Astro Boy: Omega Factor for the Game Boy Advance.

And if you like Mega Man, you probably like Treasure. The game developer, not the buried

chest. Full of doubloons! Actually, doubloons are pretty sweet, too. So is Gunstar Heroes,

Ikaruga, Sin and Punishment...so either way, Treasure�s a good thing. And this is a Treasure

game, developed in tandem with one of SEGA�s internal teams.

If you like Mega Man, Treasure and SEGA...holy crap, this game is gonna blow your t-shirt

clear off your body. Already did to Astro Boy. He�s blasting fools in his gutchies.

You know, I respect a guy who�s not afraid to walk around in his underwear. I also respect

a guy with such superlative taste in games. Astro Boy seems to be inspired by the classics.

Stuff like Contra, even Ninja Gaiden...maybe Mega Man, I guess. It�s an action platformer

that gives that old-school gameplay a slightly more accessible feel...which is to say, you

won�t die every five seconds.

Unfortunately, the character�s don�t have quite the same appeal. I mean, unless you�re

into the manga, the story is kind of forgettable. And apart from his apparent passion for Fruit

of the Loom, Astro Boy doesn�t have much charm. The same for the game�s cast, which

is needlessly large and mostly nondescript. Fortunately, you get to level up for meeting

people, so...at least these jabronis are good for something.

On the plus side, though, once all the baffling dialogue is over...the gameplay makes everything

better. Astro Boy is a side-scrolling action game, so...old-school gameplay kind of goes

with the territory. Astro Boy�s main weapons are his hands and feet, so you�re stringing

together lots of button-mashy fisticuffs.

But you�re also spraying bullets from your underwear.

Looks like I gotta get a pair of this underwear.

See, Astro Boy also has a couple of crazy super attacks. So as you pull off combos,

you�re filling up this crazy super attack meter. Which may or may not have a different

name. You can use that to fire a freaking massive laser beam, Samus Aran style. Or,

you know, do the underwear thing. And the weird thing is...you have to use these attacks,

like, constantly to survive.

But if you don�t also do some combos, you won�t be able to. And ends up making a really

satisfying balance between your attacks, as well as the resulting gameplay.

So the characters are kind of lame, but...again, meeting them lets you level up. The game places

a heavy emphasis on customizing little Astro Boy. Whether you want to upgrade his fists,

his feet...maybe his underwear. The choice is yours...which adds some nice...choice.

The game isn�t perfect, though. In fact, it has some of the worst slowdown we�ve

come across in a long time. I mean, this is pretty freaking rough. Again, although there�s

some awesome sprite work here...some of the character design is kind of weak. I get that

there�s only so much you can do with a game based on something, but...I don�t know.

Some of them struck me as a little generic.

Come on, Treasure. Freaking slackers.

Actually, Treasure is anything but slackers. And although this game isn�t quite as legendary

as some of their classics, it�s still a great GBA game in its own right. It�s vintage

without being old-fashioned, it�s challenging without being frustrating...

And it makes the ultimate argument in favor of briefs.

It�s Astro Boy: Omega Factor.