''Spyborgs'' is a

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

for the Wii developed by American studio Bionic Games and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' ...

. It was released in September 2009.

Gameplay

''Spyborgs'' sees players controlling a member of a team of

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

secret agents, each with their own unique abilities, through several levels populated by enemies. The game is designed to be played co-operatively with two players, though the AI will take control of the other character in single player games. Players can also gain experience points to upgrade their character's abilities. For each level, players can choose two out of the three Spyborgs, which include: *Clandestine, a quick and nimble

female ninja is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

. *Bouncer, a lumbering but powerful robot. *Stinger, a soldier with a cybernetic gun arm. Played using the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact ...

, motion controls initiate special attacks while the two characters can team up their attacks for additional damage. Alternatively, players can also choose to play with the buttons on the Wii Remote instead.

Plot

Development

Initially announced in June 2008 at Capcom's Captivate event, ''Spyborgs'' underwent a major redesign after a lukewarm reception from the gaming press. Changes include a shift from bright cartoony graphics reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoon shows, to a grittier and more realistic visual look, as well as the removal of

minigames A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

which served as parodies of children's toy commercials. The current game also shifted focus from an action-oriented game with superpower-based puzzle elements to a brawler. The game was developed in an internal engine designed by Bionic Games, not

MT Framework MT Framework is a game engine created by Capcom. "MT" stands for "Multi-Thread", "Meta Tools" and "Multi-Target". While initially MT Framework was intended to power 2006's ''Dead Rising'' and '' Lost Planet: Extreme Condition'' only, Capcom later ...

Reception

''Spyborgs'' received "average" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

praised the game for its high quality graphics and large amount of polish. Despite this, IGN criticised the title for its punishing difficulty and lack of innovation. ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

'' criticised the game for being generic.

References

External links

*{{moby game, id=/wii/spyborgs 2009 video games Beat 'em ups Capcom games Capcom beat 'em ups Video games about ninja Science fiction video games Video games developed in the United States Video games featuring female protagonists Wii games Wii-only games