Robo 3

Robots in video games are, generally speaking, an unapproachable bunch.

While you might stumble across the occasional wise-cracking droid or amiable automaton, the vast majority would sooner blast a hole in your fleshy form than waste valuable computing power on pleasantries.

Not so with Robo 3's metallic protagonist. More Wall-E than T-800, this huggable hunk of hardware's prime directive is reproduction rather than disintegration.

To that end, it's your job to guide him through a series of mazes in search of the components he needs to build his very own mechanical heir.

It's an unusual setup for a puzzler that, despite its best efforts, never really gets into gear, making this one for genre fans only.

Your journey begins on a map screen, where you're presented with three different routes across a variety of environments.

Each route will lead you through a string of ten increasingly challenging maps, which you have to complete as quickly as possible.

The task is always the same: get Robo to the exit by rearranging the environment. There are blocks that you can push aside (though only one block at a time), laser turrets that can be moved or destroyed, and mirrors that redirect laser beams when placed in the turret's line of fire.

Things start off promisingly. The tutorial does a nice job of demonstrating the mechanics, and the first couple of levels cement the fundamentals nicely.

The presentation is rather strong, with a neat interface and solid art-style supported by the occasional explosive sound effect.

Music only plays during menu screens, so the puzzles themselves are quiet affairs, which is arguably better than listening to an irritating midi loop while you're racking your brains.

As the map screens grow in size, the path to freedom becomes less and less clear. The problem is, as Robo 3 progresses the experience becomes increasingly uneven, leading to furrowed brows and missed opportunites.

One level will have you scratching your head for 15 minutes, while you might breeze through the next in south of 40 seconds.

This lack of consistency gets a little frustrating, as you never know whether you're going to be taxed or bored from one moment to the next.

Still, there are some satisfying conundrums to be solved, even if they're undermined by the less considered levels.

With a little more polish, and a couple more high-quality stages, Robo 3 might have amounted to more than the brief distraction that it turned out to be.