Bionicle [PS2]

Bionicle continues showing you vignettes of gameplay. You'll encounter "grinding" on tree limbs and soaring through the air with the air Toa, riding in a mine cart with the earth Toa, a boss fight with the stone Toa, lava surfing with our fire guy, and then the final boss battle with the Toa of Light. Each segment is so short that they can hardly be called levels, but if they were any longer than you wouldn't be able to stand playing through them.

Even the boss fights are uninspiring. There are technically only four to begin with, and two of them are the same enemy but take place in a different environment. None are particularly challenging and can be defeated by a quick analysis of the patterns. One of the more interesting fights requires you to roll blocks unto vents so that they'll be catapulted into a boss -- your Toa can't grab these blocks so you have to run your Bionicle into them and hope the stones go in the right direction (quite frustrating).

Full of good intentions (for the kid gamer), Bionicle falls flat on its LEGO constructed legs thanks to Argonaut's attempt to include too much in too short a game. Clunky controls and an unfriendly camera make fighting difficult and hinder what little platforming there is. Luckily, the entire adventure can be beaten in less than two hours, which will at least put you out of your LEGO induced misery.

Graphics The visuals are about as stellar as the gameplay. Backgrounds are relatively blurry and texture work is very basic. Environmental effects like flowing lava are at times hardly recognizable as steaming piles of liquid rock. The rest of the backgrounds are fairly plain -- like forest level has random trees here and there, but you're mostly seeing empty space.

To Argonauts credit, the Toas are animated well. They amble about on wobbly legs -- just the way their LEGO construction would permit. You also can see their individual pieces that they're composed of (although blurry) that really connects the Toas to their LEGO origin.

Sound The score is full of platform trademark tunes that alter with environment and mood of the gameplay -- it can change from frantic boss music to airy ballads of the forest. However, the score isn't all that remarkable in its composition -- and simply serves as a way to drown out the sound effects. While you will hear a blast from your elemental staff and appropriate effects when your shield absorbs energy or you're hit by a blast, nothing stands out and fortunately you usually can't hear the repetitive sounds of attack and defense.

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