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If you like adventure games, and you like console-style vehicular combat games, and you'd love to put the two together (without all that icky violence), check out Scrapland.

Scrapland seems to try to answer the question, "How can we create a game that has all the action and carnage of Grand Theft Auto, but without all the violence?" The answer: populate the world with robots instead of people!

But don't let that simplistic summary fool you. Scrapland is a fun and creative game in its own right. It is a third-person 3D action-adventure game that puts you in the role of a robot reporter determined to solve a murder mystery. Along the way, you'll seek out clues, converse with other robots, and engage in combat and exploration both on foot and in a variety of gunships.

The gunship combat is my favorite element of the game. There are a variety of ships you can buy (or steal), and you get upgrades by taking on missions or finding blueprints. A nice variety of weapons is what really makes ship-to-ship combat fun.

On those occasions when you have to set foot on solid ground, though, you'll still get plenty of entertainment from taking on the bodies of different types of robots. You can disguise yourself as just about any robot in the game (there are a little more than a dozen), and each has its own special power. Banker robots, for example, steal money, while Armed Cops can kick serious ass. You'll make use of lots of different robot bodies in your mystery-solving adventure.

The graphics are detailed and colorful, and do a good job of painting a neo-cartoonish picture of a futuristic robot world. Character animations are cute, the town's neon signs are appropriately gaudy, and details like a gunship's engine wash shimmering while gunning the afterburner really add to the excitement. Scrapland's sound effects are good, too - though the voice acting needs a little work.

If you like adventure games, and you like console-style vehicular combat games, and you'd love to put the two together (without all that icky violence), check out Scrapland. It's due in stores in early November.


Preview by Keith Garrett.