Bionicle

��Use the Suva to hunt for these sons of Makuta.�� If this tip from a blue robot chick to a green robot dude makes any sense to you, you��re likely one of the millions of Lego maniacs who has made the Bionicle toy line one of the company��s most successful ever. If not, the only reason for you to play this game is to revel in derivativeness.

Granted, Bionicle does have its fun moments, and I really like the variety of gameplay��you��re doing something different in each of the eight levels. Thing is, if you��ve been playing games for at least a few years (and that very well might not be the case with much of this game��s target audience), you��ve played all of these stages before. You want elemental-based levels? Fire, snow, water, and air serve as the basis of several levels. Wanna push stuff (and maybe get a little lost) in adventure areas? You do. Platform-centric stages require lots of double-jumping and collecting glowy things. At other times, you��re snowboarding, grinding down tree limbs, and even cruising underground in a mine cart.

A taste of originality does exist when you absorb attacks with your defense shield to power up your own assaults. Ironically, though, this mechanic makes Bionicle harder��I can��t see your average preteen getting past some of the game��s more challenging, genuinely frustrating moments. Then again, the difficulty alone is what takes this game a solid five hours to beat. Even hardcore fans are only looking at rental for this one.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Publisher: Electronic Arts/Lego Interactive

Developer: Argonaut/Coyote

MSRP: $39.99 ESRB: Everyone

Copyright © 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.