Attic of the Underdogs

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Review by Underdogs:

MindRover is one of the most original and replayable games I've ever come across that unfortunately isn't selling like hotcakes for lack of advertisement and reviews in well-known game magazines. Ignore the insipid sci-fi plot: this is a robot-building game of your dreams. MindRover lets you build a robotic car from the chassis up to fulfill a variety of goals (such as beating your opponent in a race or making your way through an obstacle course), and compete in battle arenas.

The fun and addictive quality of the game lies in the absolute freedom you have in building your robot: there are approximately sixty different components you can bolt onto the chassis, (plus more you can download from the MindRover website), and you can use as many components as the number of component spots. Some components, such the engines and radar, are critical for every mission. Optional but extremely useful are mission-specific components such as the loot detector for "capture the flag" levels, rocket launcher for the deathmatch levels, and sensors to zoom around driving over your opponent's goal. Missions range from the mundane to the creative: my favorite ones are where you must program your robot to play hockey, and where you have to hide from the opponents. The game's AI isn't very intelligent, since the computer's robots use the same wiring and components that your own do. Fortunately, you can change this default setting to any robot-- even an identical copy of your own.

In short, MindRover is a tinkerer's dream come true that's bound to keep any puzzle or strategy fan addicted for hours. There's a real sense of accomplishment in building your own robot and tweaking it to not only finish the mission, but finish it in a spectacular manner (the game's excellent 3D-accelerated graphics and camera angles make viewing your victory a lot of fun). With its excellent modelling of logic and mechanical parts, MindRover is also as educational as it is entertaining. Two thumbs up!

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