Gotcha Force

Gotcha Force is the beginning of what is likely to be a new wave of action games. You’ll take control of Borgs, which are huge robots with destructive powers. The characters believe these are just toys, but in all actuality they are aliens which are invading Earth. It’s up to the kids to defeat these Borgs and to save Earth from an alien invasion.

Gotcha consists of three gameplay modes: four player battles (2 on 2), in which you’ll take your own Borg to fight others. Ideally you’ll want to have three other friends to battle with, but in the likelihood that you won’t always have that many people around, the other positions will be filled by AI opponents/team-mates. Next is a four vs. four battle mode, and lastly a story mode, which can be played by one or two players.

The Borgs will be able to perform a multitude of tasks, such as rolling around, much like a tank, soaring into the air briefly or firing balls of energy at enemies. In addition to their varying abilities, the Borgs will also have their own unique appearance. All of this will be performed with a very simple control scheme. The X button is used for strong attacks, B for weak attacks and A jumps; that’s really all there is to it. It’s just that simple. Of course you can work out strategies to become more powerful, but these three buttons are the only ones you really need to know to play Gotcha.

Gotcha Force is likely to remind many people of the old episodes of Power Rangers; Borgs and Zords, both of which serve similar functions. Borgs, much like Power Ranger Zords, can link up together to create an even more powerful Borg. This is just one of many ways that Gotcha emphasizes teamwork. Instead of having an individual health bar , you actually share one with your team-mate. So if you do great, but your buddy takes a pounding, you’re likely to lose.

Not only are the Power Ranger roots there, you’ll have the thought of those annoying little monsters in the back of your mind - Pokemon. The Borg battles are likely to make you reminisce of playing Pokemon battles at recess. You’ll even be able to create your own fighting force of Borgs!

In the story mode, you’ll create your own Gotcha Force from 100 diverse Borgs. Typically, you’ll have a team of four Borgs, and when your first Borg is eliminated you will begin playing as your next Borg. Every time one of your Borgs is killed, you lose a certain amount of health in your war power bar (there’s only one bar for your entire team). When your entire war power bar runs out, you lose. However, each Borg has its own level of war power it will take away when destroyed; weaker Borgs will take out less, while the more powerful ones take out more.

Your Gotcha Force will travel across the land and battle any evil Borgs when you encounter them, once again, much like Pokemon. Each Borg has its own strengths and weaknesses; this will force you to make sure you pick the most appropriate Borg for each battle - send one in against a Borg that attacks with your weakness, and you’re likely to come out a loser.

The overall look of Gotcha gears it toward younger gamers, although it still seems like it can catch the interest of older gamers. Settings include schoolyards to a children’s playroom. Everything looks nice, but the graphics are clearly not the most stressed portion of the game. However, certain effects such as particles look quite nice; you’ll almost be in awe when you see some of the explosions.

The only problem currently is the camera - it makes it a chore to locate your opponents; a major problem in this type of game. Hopefully this will be fixed for its release later this year.

While Gotcha doesn’t seem to be quite as exciting as some of the other GameCube blockbusters coming out this year, it still has caught my interest. With its emphasis on teamwork, this is sure to be an interesting one. Gotcha Force is on track to be released on December 2nd.