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If a hill is just a bit too steep to climb Blitz will run out of steam and need a little boost. Pick up something heavy and you'll move with the grace of a pregnant yak. You'll even get your robotic arms caught on cables, walls, and rubble if you're not too careful. Ordinarily this wouldn't be much of an issue, but when you're taking plasma beams to the backside while solving a particularly complicated puzzle it's slightly irritating to get tripped up on space junk. Still, it's a minor gripe and one that pretty much goes away as you purchase upgrades by collecting Upgradium (the game's token collectable), but worth noting.



Because you can beat the game in six hours or so on the default skill, you might ask yourself why you should spend 15 bucks on RoboBlitz. Aside from that time consisting of six wonderful, comical hours, you'll also want to rack up those 200 Achievement points, which increases replay value. Beating the game on the normal skill will net you about 85 gamerscore points, typically, so you'll want to go through and collect all the Upgradium you missed along the way, then start over on the hardest skill level. Don't purchase any upgrades on your next run and you should be able to unlock all 12 Achievements after about 10-12 hours of play.

Even after you complete the game at least twice, there's more to look forward to. The developers at Naked Sky have already hinted at a free multiplayer download scheduled for early 2007. They haven't said if the mode is co-op, team-based, or the free-for-all deathmatch variety, so we'll have to wait and see. Extra missions would also be nice, but nothing has been officially announced at this time.

In the end, RoboBlitz is a perfect example of what Xbox Live Arcade is all about. It's creative. It's new. It's ambitious. And above all else - it's a blast to play. Support indie developers and give it a try.