BattleBots was a video game produced by Warthog Games and to be published by THQ, planned to be released for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube in November 2002, with assistance from Creative Asylum.[1] However, production was canceled after BattleBots was discontinued on Comedy Central.
Promo discs of the prototypes were previously sold on the BattleBots website for $150 but they sold out.[2] The BattleBots Store listed the game under "vintage merchandise" for $299.98, but it was permanently sold out as this was added in error, and did not make a return as the Store was reworked in 2023.[3]
In May 2022, Alpha version 4.6 of the video game was distributed by YouTube content creator Gatorbox, available to download free of charge for the first time.[4] It is the second most recent prototype available, with version 4.7 only in possession of co-founder Trey Roski.
Game Modes[]
Quick Battle[]
This mode allows a player to fight a single match inside the BattleBox arena between two robots which have been unlocked up to that point. This mode does not count towards any of the unlock achievements.
Arcade Mode[]
- "Attempt to unlock all 80 bots when you battle in wide-open arenas with power-ups."
- — Official description from THQ
Arcade mode allows for the player to fight ready-made opponents and unlock various real-life and fictional BattleBots competitors through completing various challenges. As well as the expected arena hazards, Arcade fights also feature various power-ups which can be used to a player's advantage throughout the course of a fight. These power-ups can be toggled on or off in the game's settings.
Tournament Mode[]
- "Battle against bots from the show in a tournament structure with arenas and hazards seen on the TV show."
- — Official description from THQ
The tournament mode allows for a player to build their own robot from scratch, with a finite budget and limited components to begin with. Players can obtain sponsorships along the way to upgrade a robot over the course of a tournament.
Bot Garage[]
The Workshop menu.
Upon entering the Tournament mode, the player is prompted to build a custom robot. To do this, they must access the Bot Garage, where players can spend any accumulated money on a brand new machine, selecting a chassis (known in-game as a frame), method of locomotion, drive motors, armor, weaponry, miscellaneous accessories and decals. Players can also use color, brightness and saturation sliders to further customize the look of their robot.
Each item available to purchase in the workshop has various characteristics, with stronger materials and more powerful components often either being more expensive, or weighing more. As with robots, various components can be unlocked as the player progresses through the game. Once complete, the player can drive their robot in a test arena before competition against a purpose-built opponent.
The final weight of the robot will determine what division it is assigned to, ranging from lightweight to superheavyweight.
Repairs[]
The Repair Bot menu.[5]
Between fights, repairs can be made ahead of the upcoming match. The game gives the player 20 minutes of time to dedicate to repairs, with more severe damage costing more time to fix, and vice versa. Too much damage can lead to running out of time without having fixed everything which was damaged on the robot in its previous battle. A very similar repairs mechanic was used in the Infogrames releases Robot Arena and Robot Arena 2: Design and Destroy.
Multi-Player Mode[]
- "Battle with up to 4 players in one arena or play in a 3 player or 4 player league."
- — Official description from THQ
A magazine advertisement for the game.
The BattleBots video game was also highlighted to have different camera angles, more accurate damage representation than previous games and play-by-play commentary with eighty playable robots and twenty different arenas to compete in, though not all of these were present on the most recently accessed version of the game prior to it being scrapped. The game appeared to be a notable improvement on previous releases, implementing visible damage and relatively realistic physics. The in-game models for each competitor robot were largely accurate, even down to bespoke decals and internal components being roughly detailed when damage was taken. It was possible to compete in four-way rumbles as well as one-on-one fights, with introductions from Mark Beiro audible in-game. However, at the stage the game was at when production ceased, it was possible for bots in rumbles to show as "OUT" when they are still mobile. It could also take an excessive amount of time for bots to be counted out. However, a player could view highlights of a battle after it had played out to relive the action, though commentary from Bil Dwyer and Tim Green was notably absent from fights.
Early promotional material for the game, featuring its 3D model of Diesector.
Replay mode following the conclusion of a fight. Note the R in the top-right corner.
The game was initially announced on the official BattleBots website on September 12 2002, with November 2002 mentioned as its release date. For unknown reasons, it was initially postponed until early February 2003, before being delayed again to May 2003, then subsequently scrapped altogether.
According to a Reddit post from a user who was part of THQ's quality assurance team for the game, it saw little improvement in fixing bugs and issues in the months leading to the plug being pulled. With the development team based in Warthog Games' headquarters in the UK and the game's quality assurance team based in California, progress was slow and people on the team inevitably left THQ as the game was canceled.
Nevertheless, a video was uploaded to YouTube showcasing gameplay footage. Additionally, many screenshots of the game and its concept art were made public in 2017 by Gary Switzer. In late 2021, a YouTube content creator called GatorBox acquired an alpha copy of the game and showed off gameplay and menu content.[6]
On December 25, 2021, Gatorbox uploaded a two and a half hour gameplay video of the prototype showing off numerous parts of the game and some of the bugs that cause it to crash. Draco, the host of the channel, stated that he is in possession of the prototype but is not at any liberty (or ability) to release it, but assured viewers that he had made multiple personal archives of it to prevent it from truly becoming 'lost'. Five months later however, he uploaded the prototype to the Internet Archive on May 6, 2022.[7]
Playable Robots[]
A total of 42 replica robots and 20 fantasy robots were to be included in the game, each modeled in Autodesk 3DS Max by Creative Asylum, whose other notable work includes Pac-Man: Adventures in Time and Mobil 1 Rally Championship.[8] However, the THQ website states 80 robots were set to be included in the game.[9]
Contrary to the TV show, where robots fought in their own weight classes, the game allowed robots from different weight classes to fight each other. The game's roster included many of the best and most well-recognized robots from BattleBots, but notably lacked several competitors from the seasons it was based around. Notably, Son of Whyachi, Tazbot, Atomic Wedgie, Dr. Inferno Jr. among others were absent from the game. However, more obscure robots such as Fang and Garm made the cut.[10]
TV Series Robots[]
* These robots were not included in the most recent version of the game prior to it being scrapped.[11]
- "I definitely remember modeling Tentoumushi and Killerhurtz, but I have a feeling they were on the "to do" list for the physics guy when the plug got pulled."
- — Gary Switzer speaks about missing robots from the unfinished game in February 2022
According to a single IGN article, the Season 2.0 lightweight Enforcer was originally part of the roster of real-life robots.[12] However, this is not mentioned by other sources and builder Al Kindle has himself expressed doubt over the legitimacy of his robot's inclusion.
- "Highly doubt that as it was quite terrible lol"
- — Al Kindle when asked about Enforcer's potential inclusion in the game[13]
Fictional Bots[]
As well as the stars from BattleBots, the game also featured twenty fictional robots, five per weight class:
Lightweight[]
Middleweight[]
Heavyweight[]
Super Heavyweight[]
Other[]
- Testbot Mk.1
- Testbot Mk.2
- Testbot Mk.3
- Testbot Mk.4
Arenas[]
- "20 BattleBox Arenas of Destruction - Engineered for maximum safety on the outside and supreme torture on the inside, these 35-ton thunder domes are where the bots come to beat the bolts out of each other."
- — Official THQ description
As well as the renowned BattleBox, themed variations of the arena were also included in the game, held in different locations in the US. Though twenty arenas were advertised, only nine are available on the most recent version of the game before production was canceled.[14]
Replica Arenas[]
Fictional Arenas[]
- Venice Beach
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Alcatraz
- Grand Central Terminal
- USS Intrepid
- Groom Lake Compound
- Top-Secret Hangar
- Dry Dock
See Also[]
- www.thq.com/battlebots/
- BattleBots (Gamecube Prototype) | Gatorbox
- https://garyswitzer.artstation.com/projects/AbNDW
Trivia[]
- The Arcade mode description states the game was meant to have 80 robots in total, but only 41 were present in the Alpha version 4.6, excluding removed robots.
- Although KillerHurtz itself was removed from the game, its axe weaponry still appears in the Bot Builder menu as a heavyweight weapon, albeit not by name.
- Six custom robots had their names changed during production - Nut Crusher, Mr Heavy, Assassin, Meathead, Riot Control and Bad Lieutenant. However, the Mark Beiro introductions were not redone.
- Interestingly, five of the original names (Scorpion, Cerberus, The Inquisitor, Ramesis and Corporal Punishment) are shared by former Robot Wars contestants from series which predated the intended release of this game. However, it is unconfirmed whether this was the reason for their name changes.
- Some early accounts of the game state that it was also going to release on Xbox, though this is largely believed to be false as no other evidence has been found of an Xbox version apart from these claims.[15]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20021205044540/http://www.creative-asylum.com:80/products.html#
- ↑ http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/is-there-a-working-copy-of-the-battlebots-game.54347/
- ↑ https://www.battlebotsstore.com/vintagemerch/BOTS-VIDEO-NGC
- ↑ https://twitter.com/GatorboxDraco/status/1522723733865181186
- ↑ LOST MEDIA FOUND - TheDominusIgnis plays The Battlebots Prototype for GameCube
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRUXsibkJBs
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/battlebots-gc-prototype
- ↑ http://www.merlynlear.com/web_gallery3d/gallery3d_01_battlebots01.html
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20021018135601/http://www.thq.com/battlebots/Features.asp?NavFeatures=Header3_01-over
- ↑ https://lostmediawiki.com/BattleBots_(lost_build_of_unreleased_GameCube/PlayStation_2_game_based_on_robot_combat_TV_series;_2003)
- ↑ Private correspondence between Gary Switzer and Mattiator in February 2022
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/09/05/battlebots
- ↑ Correspondence between Mattiator and Al Kindle
- ↑ https://youtu.be/QRUXsibkJBs?t=4555
- ↑ http://mutantrobots.com/html/TSHIRTS.html
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