Developer: Novotrade Publisher: Playmates Release: 1995 Genre: Action
ExoSquad was a cartoon I initially ignored in its first run. When the choice is ExoSquad or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the green guys win almost every time. But syndicated reruns early in the morning gave me a new appreciation for it. That in turn inspired me to track down the game. But the almost universally negative reviews gave me pause. Could it really be that bad? To a certain extent, yes. ExoSquad has its good points but there are just as many frustrating elements that drown them out.
The story takes place sometime after the cartoon series. In the year 2118 peace talks between the Terrans and Neo Sapiens commence. However an illegal time jump is detected and they whole thing is called off. Lieutenant JT Marsh, Rita Torres, and Wolf Bronski follow in pursuit to see who is messing with the time stream and what are their plans. The story is told through frequent cutscenes between levels that look just as cheap as the show. It is hard to care about the story however when the game is just so bad.
ExoSquad switches between three gameplay styles as you play as each character. As Marsh the game is a third person shooter. Wolf Bronski’s levels are the only traditional side scrolling action stages although the control scheme is anything but. When playing as Rita ExoSquad becomes a fighting game with an in depth battle engine that is unique within the genre. This is a long title and it frequently switches between characters throughout. Coming to grips with the various mechanics will be your biggest battle and determine if you can tolerate the game.
The worst aspect of the game is its shooting segments. These are essentially rail shooter as you pilot JT Marsh’s mech, usually in space. It is not so much the viewpoint that makes it awful as it is the design. Your large mech obscures a most approaching objects and the perspective makes it hard to tell if you are avoiding an object. Asteroids, items, enemies, it is a roll of the dice to see whether they will hit or not. The boss battles are the only slightly enjoyable aspect of these levels as they are static and predictable. Once those life bars span the entire screen however that ends. I have purposely tried these stages multiple times to see if there was something I am missing but no, that is just the way the game is.
Of all the parts of the game its side-scrolling levels are probably the most enjoyable. The control scheme does its novel best to get in the way of that however. For some odd reason the developers have decided to map simple actions to button combinations almost like a fighting game. Just the simple act of ducking or trying to aim up or down requires multiple actions which is dumb. To its credit once you get the hang of it the control setup does sell the idea that you are controlling a giant mech. The flow of these levels is generally pretty good if a little difficult. The gradual progression in their complexity allows you become accustomed to the nuances of the control. Now I would love if the controls were more standard. But at least they work provided you make the effort.
The one on one duels are almost as bad as its shooting parts. I will give the game credit for being unique in this regard. Prior to the start of each bout the game shows you the button combos for every attack. It is an extensive list and you have a brief window to practice. All the practice in the world goes out the window once the fight begins. The choice of making each character consist of segmented sprites means the animation and movement devolves in to a gangly mess of limbs. It feels clumsy rather than fluid. When everything works right you can see what they were going for. Unfortunately those moments are few and far between.
That best describes ExoSquad to a tee. There is nothing wrong with trying to be different. But that only works when you nail the execution. ExoSquad can be fun once you get accustomed to its idiosyncrasies. But the game asks you to invest far too much to get to its good points. Eventually I was able to somewhat master each element of the game outside of its shooting stages. But that took a long time and I cannot help but feel it would have been better spent on a different title. The license and my fondness of it along with the beautiful graphics compelled me to stick with it. Don’t make the same mistake.
In Closing
ExoSquad is a disappointment. There is no getting around it. Nearly every aspect of the game has problems and it ruins the overall experience. Stellar production values cannot save this turd of a game. Next time maybe spend more time on the gameplay rather than the art. Just saying.
