L2AGO #13

I got peer pressured into playing this game by some friends who are Bionicle fans (I personally am not so I am not going to comment upon the story, though I believe if you watch Mask of the Light, you'll understand the gist of it), though I can't deny that part of it was also my fault for wanting to cover as many 3D platformers as possible. I really need to learn when to exercise restraint...

For better or for worse, this is very emblematic of many of the low budget licensed titles that took the form of a 3D platformer in the GC/PS2 era. The textures and character models have definitely not aged well at all for its time and the soundtrack is just alright; you will notice the very short loops if you pay attention. The gameplay is about as jank as it gets though. Here are some examples:

- Really, really wobbly camera. Every time you jump, the camera will bob up and down. The camera also loves to snap to random perspectives as you make your way across the levels, and occasionally will rotate away from the direction you're facing while platforming. Be prepared to fight the camera a ton to figure out where you need to go next or target enemies who are firing at you offscreen. Speaking of which...

- Targeting and shooting feels super inconsistent. Usually you have to be staring the enemy right in the eye with your line of sight, otherwise there's a good chance your reticle doesn't automatically lock on for the shot. This makes hit and run (shoot and then dodging) really tough because you have to get the lock on while fighting off the rotating camera at the same time.

- The distance for shooting enemies is also kind of variable alongside the angle; this is important because there's a minecart level that requires you to shoot down obstacles in your way as well as hit 6 switches on the side, and if you don't hit all 6, you have to replay the minecart level again until all 6 have been activated. Sometimes shooting too early causes the attack to miss altogether, but sometimes shooting too late causes the attack to fizz out. I couldn't find a consistent distance/aiming strat to hit the obstacles and switches.

- One of the character's main powers is the ability to push rocks onto switches! Wow, what an extraordinary power! It's super easy to dislocate the push animation vs the rock if you tilt your joystick too far to the left or right by the way, and you'll just slip right past the rock and have to recenter yourself. A minor annoyance compared to the other issues, but still pretty noticeable, especially since it's a key mechanic for a boss fight.

- Very noticeable pop-in distance so you won't be able to tell some obstacles/platforms are in the way until you approach quite closely.

I suppose the platforming and boss fights are sometimes serviceable (the glide mechanic with the green Bionicle was probably the best part), but having to fight the camera + inconsistent reticle lock on/shot distance can really wear you down, and the game does not always do the best job of explaining what you need to do to progress (i.e. it took me a solid 15 minutes to figure out by myself that you need to use the shield button to knock the droideka lookin enemies into a vulnerability state during the snowboarding level); failing some of these levels will force you to sit through a minute long cutscene and repeat the whole level again, so it does wear you down after a bit, though at least it is only about 3 and a half hours long. Wasn't really an enjoyable experience at the end of the day but at least I entertained a few friends along the way and I can in fact, confirm that this was one of the 3D platformers of all time.