In Gamespot's review of Chibi Robo, writer Greg Mueller says, "Despite the monotonous and occasionally tiresome gameplay, the great cast of characters and offbeat sense of humor manage to make Chibi-Robo a compelling and ultimately enjoyable experience".

So let me get this straight, because people are in the market for a new GameCube title and they've got some hard earned cash to burn. Despite repetitive and boring crap, the characters as well as the "offbeat sense of humor" make Chibi-Robo enjoyable?

See, this is why I'm wary of videogame reviews, because the writers oftentimes don't make any sense. I mean really. Who purchases a boring game to enjoy a "great cast of characters", and when did we, as an industry of journalists ("experts", if you will), put presentation over gameplay? It's ridiculous to even think such a thing is possible, but apparently we've done it with a smile, but I'm writing this to let you know that Chibi-Robo's characters suck, its audio is even worse, and as for its gameplay, it's quite monotonous.

The concept's certainly wonderful, and when I first played the game (all too briefly), at a Nintendo sponsored event last fall, I had nothing but praise for this offbeat and quirky title. You play as a tiny helper bot named Chibi-Robo, a cute little guy that's no more than a few inches tall. You're charged with helping the Sanderson family around the house, whether that means scrubbing floors with a toothbrush or tossing trash into the waste basket. You can also interact with the family members, in particular Jenny, the little girl who thinks, for some bizarre reason, that she's a frog. But you can also speak to the toys lying about the house, and over time, the game evolves from being a garbage man simulation to a full blown action adventure title where you're blasting monsters. Now factor in a wondrous sense of scale (and I admit that it's very cool to see a house from this perspective), and you basically have a recipe for success. Break out the champagne! Delay Twilight Princess a few more months! Dust off the GameCube! One of the last, great hits has arrived!

Continue...