Spyborgs Hands-On

Spyborgs was first revealed by Capcom back in June 2008, and since then developer Bionic Games has changed it up quite a bit. For a start, it has scrapped the fake-advertisement minigames, while retaining the Saturday-morning-cartoon feel, and has also "aged up" the gameplay, which it hopes will suit a more hardcore Wii audience.

Spyborgs' story puts you in control of one of three cybernetic crime fighters, who have been tasked with hunting down a traitor. Each character has unique moves and abilities. Clandestine is fast, wielding a katana blade and possessing the speed of a ninja. Bouncer is a slow-moving robot able to send enemies flying with a single punch, and Stinger is a weapons specialist who looks to strike a balance between the two. Stinger wasn’t available to play at Captivate, although Capcom has promised more on him at a later date.

The game's developers drew comparisons to other action games, including Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and even Konami's classic Simpsons arcade beat-'em-up. Spyborgs has 36 levels in total, and our demo covered mansion, lab, and industrial environments, eventually moving to a rooftop boss battle against a huge robot.

While Spyborgs plays best with a second player, you can also team up with an AI-controlled teammate. The single-player mode lets you easily switch between the two characters, so you can use their abilities to suit each individual situation. You can also unlock new moves and combos for each character, such as a more powerful sword for Clandestine or boosters to speed up your motion. One tool at your disposal throughout the game is Spyvision, which, in the same vein as Samus Aran's visor in Metroid Prime, lets you scan the environment for upgrades, switches, and other items. Each combination of characters also gives unique combos and finishing moves, such as when Bouncer throws enemies in the air and Clandestine smashes them down to the ground. Onscreen directions show you how to pull off these finishing moves, but you'll have only a few seconds to hit the right button.

Spyborg's controls are straightforward: you use the A button to jump, B and C for light and heavy attacks, and Z to block. Tapping B and C in the right order lobs an enemy in the air, and holding Z and shaking either the remote or the nunchuk performs special moves or co-op finishers.

We saw a range of different enemies, including easy-to-defeat grunts, cybernetic soldiers with grenade launchers, spiderlike tanks, and the big boss (which was taken from the eighth level in the game). The robot packs a serious punch and possesses wrist-mounted machine guns, shoulder-mounted rockets, and an optical laser blast. The game is currently in pre-alpha, so Capcom and Bionic Games still have plenty of work ahead of them. One interesting point is that Wii MotionPlus support is planned, along with some potential exclusive additional content for those with the Wii peripheral. Spyborgs will be available exclusively on the Nintendo Wii later this year.