Although Adultswim.com has a wide variety of games in it’s line-up, few stand out as truly being legitimately fun to play. Robot Unicorn Attack Heavy Metal is one of those titles. If you are wondering why it seems so similar to Robot Unicorn Attack, which was originally created by Spiritonin Media, you would be correct in assuming it is a remake. This new title has been re-done in all it’s heavy metal glory by Smashing Ideas Inc.
The premise of the game is simple; guide your robot unicorn through the world to gain points. The “world” is mostly a never ending path of ramps and hills that you must clear in order to survive. This seems easy at first, but quickly becomes more of a challenge when the speed picks up. You are able to jump to clear these breaks in the pattern, and even double jump if you do not think you can quite make it. There are several obstacles in your way that will prevent you from proceeding. Although the pattern seems to be smooth sailing in the beginning, eventually you will run into structures hanging from the ceiling that will damper your ability to jump. There are also stars that mean instant death if you can not destroy them in time. Fortunately, your robot unicorn can also dash through these to gain more points. The first couple of times it will tell you when to do so.
The “heavy metal” aspect of the game would be the song “Battlefield” by Blind Guardian. This song did a surprisingly good job at not getting old even though it continuously loops throughout the game. I found that the visuals were pretty good for a simple game like this, although at some points there was a bit of slow-down. The game controls fairly easily on the PC, with Z and X being the only keys you hit. The main point of the game is to gain as many points as possible, while not hitting the obstacles. Although it is game over when you die, you get three lives or “wishes” to work with. The final score is a final tally of those three scores from your wishes. Points are gained in several different ways, with the easiest way being steps survived which are counted on the top of the screen. There are also bats that loom around each jump opportunity and hitting them nets you ten points, while hitting many of them in a row causes a multiplier. The stars that you must dash through work in the same way, with each star being worth one hundred points in the beginning.
I think the game is a pretty good way to pass the time, as it will surprise you with the degree at which it keeps you amused. Robot Unicorn Attack Heavy Metal is available on AdultSwim.com for free, but is also available on the iPhone/iPad for the great price of 99 cents.
