For a game that doesn’t receive much attention or garner hype, Gotcha Force is an entertaining collection-fighter with strong anime ties and an interesting storyline. The game has simple yet addictive gameplay that is geared toward younger audiences. By no means does this limit the appeal for older gamers, though, as Gotcha Force offers plenty of challenges and rewards.

The setting is a small town on planet Earth where small robot fighters have just visited it. These small toy-like robots are called Borgs. These elite fighters have come to earth to stop the Death Force, which is an evil band of Borgs responsible for the destruction of their home planet, Mega Borg. Using GF energy and courage, Gotcha Borgs require a commander (that’s our role) to lead them into battle. They use the courage of their commander as power that allows them to fight. We team up with a Borg named G Red who is on a mission to stop the Death Force from doing harm to our planet.

The town our character resides in is the first step in a plan to destroy Earth. Death Force units have began popping up at different locations all across town, and it's up to us to go stop them. But along the way we discover other kids have come across similar Borgs that have partnered up with them. Through Gotcha battles we are able to interact with the kids in town. The Gotcha Force (the coined title for our team of do-gooders) will grow as we make new friends. Not every kid is out to save the Earth, though, and we make a number of foes too as we progress.

Participating in and winning Gotcha Battles increases our courage and allows us to support more Gotcha Borgs. A commander is able to assemble a Gotcha Force, which consists of multiple Borgs that can be used in succession during battles, when he has enough courage to support more Borgs. When one Borg goes down, another one in the force will appear and continue the battle. Assembling forces with the right borgs will add a bit of a strategic flavor to the game because starting a battle with one Borg can set the table for the next one to enter the battle.

This is where the game begins to take on a decidedly Pokemon-like spin. There are more than 200 Borgs to collect and assemble forces with. The Borgs range from Gunman to Ninjas, Dragons and Angels. Each one has unique characteristics and attacks that make it stand out from all other Borgs. A Gatlin Gunman has automatic long-range gunfire. Ninjas are short-range hand-to-hand specialists that are agile and quick. Deciding what Borgs to include in your forces can make for decidedly different battle outcomes. In my 4-piece fighting force, I have a Gatlin gunman, Samurai Borg, Revolver gunman, and G Red. Their combined attacks and special abilities make them a well-balanced bunch that’s pretty tough. I can afford better Borgs, but it’s a matter of taste and need. As I win battles, I earn courage points, and unlock more Borgs.

Each fight in Gotcha Force offers a unique button-mashing battle experience. The battles can take place in an array of different locations across town. The battle stages are places like bedrooms, backyards, construction areas, classrooms, and essentially wherever kids might play. The effect is something that could come right out of Toy Story – run around a bedroom from a toy’s perspective. Because each Borg is about three or four inches tall, the world seems really big compared to our little friends. This makes for some interesting battles like being chased around an orange by a fairy with a giant spear! These little Borgs hold the power that will decide the fate of our world.

What Gotcha Force offers is a visually pleasing game with a few shortcomings. The anime style presentation blends seamlessly with the Borg combat. The sequences between the battles often present the kids in dialogue with each other and move the story along enough to keep them involved with the actual battles that are taking place. Adding personality to the battles also helps the gamer to relate with what's taking place. Without these sequences, the kids would be pointless and the battles would lack story or reason.

Gotcha Force’s presentation is polished and creative. The anime show introduction to the Story mode is entertaining and adds depth to the anime theme. The cut scenes look clean and pretty. One such scene is the one that is played when you’ve unlocked a new Borg or item. The way Gotcha Force is presented makes it feel a lot like a kid’s show, which should go over well with younger audiences.

What went wrong with Gotcha Force was in the audio department. The voice acting is some of the worst I’ve ever heard, and in fact the inclusion of any audio for the characters only highlights the lack of true voice acting. What a few more audio clips would have done for this game we’ll never know, but the repetitive sounds of G Red talking will become unbearable in a matter of minutes as he will make the same sound several times in a row during a dialogue sequence. The repetitiveness is what ultimately makes the game feel cheap. The sound used for his speech is not even a good sound effect. The other sounds the kids make are survivable and nothing more than that.

Where the voice work is a major bust, this is not to say that Gotcha Force’s audio is the worst ever. The musical pieces used during portions of the game are very catchy and are likely to carve themselves into the minds of many. At least someone in the audio department has skill because is this is likely one of the game’s stronger points. All of this is to suggest that the decision over voice acting was one that severely set the game back.

However, simple audio is not the only shortcoming in Gotcha Force. The simplicity of the game carries over into the controls, which makes for a very clunky and restricted experience. There is no free-floating camera and changing views is limited to which target you want to face. At times, running around in Gotcha Force can be a real headache. With stubborn simple controls and virtually no way to look around button mashing is sometimes the only way to go.

In conclusion, Gotcha Force is a game that will likely succeed at what it set out to do. It offers a very rewarding experience with a wide variety of cool Borgs to collect and fight with. The battles are entertaining enough to eat up a few hours at a time, and there will be enough reason to pour hours into the game as long as new Borgs are being unlocked. The idea of Gotcha Force was a good one as it’s based on a winning formula. With more polish, Gotcha Force would’ve been a definite keeper for most gamers, but with such shortcomings I would recommend this as a rental first before making the decision to buy.