I like pointing out games that didn’t get a whole lot of buzz when they came out. I already did a video on Lollipop Chainsaw because that was near and dear to me, but I’ve also got a ton of others I want to give the spotlight to as well. Today’s game came out when I was working at not Gamestop – but EB Games…or at least for a little while it was. I’m pretty sure I was there during the rebranding from Electronics Boutique to EB Games. I actually worked there when the Dreamcast came out. I say “pretty sure” because I have tried to kill the parts of my brain that remembered all my years in retail (show picture of wild turkey 101, video of Don Draper throwing up and Peggy in disgust).

Anyways, while I was working in that great, great store, I got to try out a ton of games I otherwise wouldn’t have paid any mind to (show pics of DOA 2, Xena, Azure Dreams, Vandal Hearts, WCW on N64). I spent a ton of time playing the usual suspects on the PS1, skipped a metric ton of school to play a few multiplayer titles (GoldenEye, Turok 2, Tekken 3, MVC 1 pics) – sorry to my mom in case she wasn’t aware of that and she’s reading this (she’s not – I know her) – but also got to try out some really fun games, today’s game among them. So what makes Boombots so special to me? Let me show you what I consider to be one of the best intros in all of gaming, that nobody knew about.  You can check it out on the Youtube video up above – I’ll wait.

There’s a time for games like The Last of Us or Red Dead Redemption, and then there’s a time for games like Boombots.

The whole game is like that. I mean, not claymation. Wrong decade for that. But the humor is totally there. So as you saw, alien cats have taken over the Earth and it’s up to the Boombots and their creator who looks kinda like Robert Duvall to stop them. That’s it. The game’s a one on one arena type fighter that mixes long range combat with some melee. In between each round is a cutscene that has little to nothing to do with the story, and it’s just an excuse for the animators to do some funny little scene, usually with lots of poop and fart jokes. Which, if you haven’t figured out already, are my favorite types.

The combat’s simple as you can see, but it does have some nuances to it that make the game deeper than it appears. For example there’s a risk vs reward system at play where the more of the energy orbs you collect, the stronger your attacks. Use a missile, for example, and it uses up some of your power meter. Continue to build up the meter and you can launch a powerful attack or become a Mongo BoomBot, but for most of the fight you’ll be at standard power. Also whiff any of these attacks and you’re back at square one.

You can also counter attack projectiles and volley them right back to your opponent, and then they can also counter back, so it’s fun to see who blinks first and gets nailed. Everybody’s got different strengths and weaknesses, and they’re all explained in the instruction manual, which is another thing I love. The game I bought came with the manual in mint condition. Maybe it’s just me but I miss paper manuals. Anybody else hate tutorials and just wants to skim over the controls and learn it themselves?

So all the characters have lots of personality in this. You’ve got your normal robot Boomer, robot dogs, girl robots, you can play as airplanes with english accents, and if you go undefeated you can unlock other characters by beating them. The dog is my personal favorite, with his jagged metal mouth and teeth. As a side note, when Chickie Boom gets hit, I’m like 90% sure they used recycled screams from Mortal Kombat 2 or 3 and that endears me to the game more.

So if you couldn’t figure it out already, I really like this game and think it deserved better from reviewers. I looked back at the reviews and it was hit pretty hard by the major gaming sites, with the reviewers clutching their pearls at the poop jokes, which let’s be honest is not surprising. 20 years later nothing’s changed. It’s too bad because everything that was considered low-budget or crappy back then, I think is great as I play it in what’s left of 2019 and I think other people would like it too. I feel like a re-release of this would do really well now, or at least better, because there’s so many indie developers out there who have an appreciation for games like this. Personally if it makes me laugh and I can have some fun playing it with friends, then that’s all I need. There’s a time for games like The Last of Us or Red Dead Redemption, and then there’s a time for games like Boombots. They can all share the same space in this wonderful world of gaming, and that’s why it’s become such a huge industry.