Tetsujin 28 Go
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When I saw Robot Alchemic Drive for the first time, I knew it was at least partly an homage to the great granddaddy of all super robots, Tetsujin 28. Known as Gigantor in the States, this early black and white anime starred a boy and his giant, remote-controlled robot, protecting Tokyo from the forces of evil. Now Sandlot, the developers of RAD, have gotten their shot at the real thing, and given the original Mr. T a game as large as the big blue bot himself.

In its basic form, this is an atomic powered boxing game featuring giant steel fisticuffs. Every robot comes equipped with four varieties of knuckle sandwiches, from a tin-plated love tap to a jet-assisted uppercut Ryu would envy. If playing rock'em sock'em robots is a little too plain, you can mix it up with up to four unique special attacks, like Tetsujin's jet charge that can send other robots flying through the air like so many giant scattered leaves. All of these dent-inducing assaults are selected by charging them up, with more powerful attacks requiring longer charge times.

Virtually anything in the game can be used as a weapon, allowing your robot to hurl a building three times its size, smack around another bot with a light pole, pick up a fallen foe to slam them into the side of a building, or go King Kong on the foot soldiers and start tossing them into the stratosphere. The one downside to this otherwise engrossing combat system is that due to the camera it's often difficult to gauge the distance between your bot and his opponent, and sometimes your attacks will only strike air.

Even though he's a giant composed of super strong alloys, Tetsujin 28 doesn't like to be used as a walking punching bag, which is why he also comes equipped with a selection of defensive options. Everything from the standard boxing block, to a surprisingly quick side step, to the ability to fly from danger; though the latter leaves him vulnerable for a few critical moments. The best thing about his defense is you can still charge up your attacks, so T28 can drop his defense, only to unleash a full strength punch when his opponent is left wide open. Though tougher attacks will still do some damage even if you manage to get your block up in time.

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