Spectrobes - hands-on

If you were hoping to take your Spectrobes online and duke it out with other games, well, stop. There won't be any online battles here - they've been replaced with a 16-player matchmaking system that encourages players to get together in the same area and play face-to-face. One person acts as a mediator, setting up combat tiers and watching the others fight through the ranks until only one remains. But, once the tournament is over, the host gets to choose the winner, giving underdogs the chance to ultimately win even if they lost to an overpowered rival.

Spectrobes is set to appear on March 13, mere weeks before Pokemon Pearl and Diamond begin their assured chart-topping dominance. Will there be room for two big-name monster franchises in the same season? Could be, if gamers buy into all the content Spectrobes is offering (though the remedial art design is already getting on our nerves). We have yet to deliver a verdict on the matter, but keep on watch for more - with Digimon in the grave, this could be all that stands in the way of another 10 years overrun with electric rodents.