Scrapland

I would have liked to have seen more variety and lateral flexibility in the single-player... Overall, the game's refreshing sense of personality wins out over everything else.

For all its flaws though, Scrapland's immersive gameplay, enjoyable storyline and quirky, unique atmosphere are more than enough to keep you hooked until the very end.

Those that love unique stories, settings, and characters will adore just tooling around in this mystical land, but those looking to give their reflexes a workout will be left wanting more.

Had the controls been a bit more responsive for the ship-flying portions and the robot smashing just a tad more smoother, we would have had the perfect robot action game this side of "Metal Arms: Glitch in the System."

American McGee has always had talent for crafting some truly original stories, and thankfully, Scrapland is no exception.

There is plenty of challenge, good graphics and great story and style.

Proves that there are still fresh ideas out there.

Scrapland is dripping with charisma despite its two-dimensional characters and decaffeinated storyline. The compulsion to return to Chimera again and again is hard to resist, even if it's just to satiate your curiosity of how good things could have been.

Scrapland is still pretty good overall, but there's definitely a level of potential here that just doesn't ever quite get realized.

Scrapland's parts make a pretty decent whole, but there just wasn't that old black magic there, that feeling that captivates you and keeps you glued to your seat longing for more. [Apr 2005, p.57]

A great plot, extravagant graphics and solid audio, Scrapland is tolerable even with its downsides.

A good-looking game that offers inoffensive, simple gameplay that's likely to suit the tastes of most gamers. Due to knowing exactly what you're meant to be doing at all times, it loses the complete immersion that games like "Beyond Good & Evil" and a few others in the genre have managed to accomplish, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. [Feb 2005, p.110]

There are huge problems with the consistency of the mission difficulty, the sound that is awful, the flawed story; but after all that Scrapland has just enough going for it to make it enjoyable to play through, although the experience might be slightly frustrating.

The end result feels like two separate games crudely soldered together, there's a connection there, but it lacks cohesion and a real weld between worlds.

Worst of all, however, are the on-foot sections - which would appear to be in the game for the sole purpose of annoying people. Scrap indeed. [Apr 2005, p.136]

Scrapland is the symbol of what games without multi-million dollar ad campaigns should not be. Trying for something unattainable is synonymous with creating something subpar. And that's all Scrapland is, when it's said and done.

The entire time I was playing, I kept thinking how this cool premise should have made for a better game. Alas, it never realizes its potential. [March 2005, p.78]

Scrapland's cool murder mystery is wasted on a series of lame fetch quests. It's got a lot of heart - just not a lot of brains. [Apr 2005, p.125]