More Metal-Mangling Mayhem From The BBC

BBC Multimedia and Crawfish declare 'Robot Wars' for new Game Boy Advance console.

Posted by Staff
BBC Multimedia and Crawfish Interactive are pleased to announce the development of a new Game Boy Advance title based on the hit BBC TV show Robot Wars. Set for UK release in November this year, this Robot Wars game (title tba) comes hot on the heels of the recently released Game Boy Advance console in Europe.

Building on the success of Robot Wars - Metal Mayhem (released by BBC Multimedia last year on Game Boy Color), this all new title promises to create more sparks than a circular saw hitting titanium body armour! Poised for a fifth television series this autumn, the mechanical gladiators in Robot Wars continue to draw an audience of around four million. Viewers' fascination for radio-controlled 'bot-bludgeoning is as high as ever.

Loosely based on the format of the television programme, this Game Boy Advance title extends all the excitement of the show's robotic run-ins.

Key features include

  • Competitor Robots: Control one of a number of pre-defined fighters modelled on robots that have featured in the TV series. Hypnodisc, Chaos II and Panic Attack are only a few of the familiar steel soldiers available.

  • House robots: Come face-to-face with the famous, ludicrously over-armed house robots. Meet the axe-wielding Shunt and flee from Dead Metal's chassis-crushing pincers. You may find a chink in Matilda's heavy armour and avoid Sir Killalot's hydraulic cutter, but there's no escape from the circular saw and flamethrower combo carried by Sergeant Bash.
  • DIY robots: Game Boy Advance owners will also have the opportunity to construct their own deadly droids. With a dizzying number of component combinations, players can specify the size and weight of their robot, its basic design, plus the weapon(s) that it uses. Hydraulic flippers, steel spikes, flame throwers, pneumatic hammers and the awesome "srimech" (self-righting mechanism) are just the tip of the 'bot-busting arsenal.
  • MULTI-PLAYER LINK and multiple gaming modes: This Game Boy Advance version features a multi-player link mode with a selection of new gaming modes for extended drone damaging. Robot Rumble, Grudge Match, Death Match, Tag Team mode and the Robot Wars Championship are just a few of the gaming challenges.
  • Arenas: Choose from the familiar Main Series Arena, the Steel Works with its river of molton steel and the Robot Factory where robots charge forth from the mouth of Sir Killalot! Try the Power Plant with exposed electrical elements that can wreak havoc on your robot or the Multi Boot Arena for battles with more than one player


"BBC Multimedia has made a success of transforming great television brands into great interactive properties," adds Dave Lee, Director of BBC Multimedia. "Robot Wars - Metal Mayhem on Game Boy Color proved so popular that it sold out within three weeks of its release. Susbsequent reorders then pre-sold-out twice, confirming the huge demand for the title. Extending the brand with this all new game on Game Boy Advance is a logical and exciting step, as is the forthcoming release of Robot Wars - Arenas of Destruction on PlayStation 2 and PC CD-ROM in November 2001."

"Robot Wars makes a great videogame," said Crawfish MD Cameron Sheppard, "because all of the elements that go into making a great videogame are already there. Players have the chance to design and build their own robots just like the contestants have done in the TV series. But unlike the real competition, they can test out different robot configurations with ease and take control of championship-winning machines. Quick-thinking, good robot design, tactical awareness and luck have proved vital in the TV show. You'll need all of them when you play the game too."

Following in the steps of its hugely popular predecessors - Game Boy and Game Boy Color - the Game Boy Advance console offers to take the handheld games experience to the next level. More than 100 million Game Boys of various versions have been sold since the launch of the Game Boy in 1989.