irst off, let me just say that I have zero knowledge of the Astro Boy universe, the famous anime franchise, or the upcoming animated series. About all I know about the little dude is that he looks like the illegitimate son of Betty Boop and shoots bullets out of his ass – which is fine by me. I say this not to denigrate the Astro Boy legacy, but rather to point out that this title is earning its score not by virtue of its license, but by its superb gameplay.

For those of you who hold fond memories of the NES era, put this at the top of your "must buy" list. Created through a partnership between Sega’s Hitmaker studio and Treasure, the company behind the cult classic GameCube shooter Ikaruga, Astro Boy demonstrates once again just how compelling classic 2D gameplay can be when it’s done right.

Although a Sega product, Astro Boy is actually more reminiscent of Capcom’s Mega Man franchise. Like Mega Man, our hero is equipped with a number of robotic powers, including a finger laser, jet boosters that allow for quick dash moves across the screen, and a handful of awesome special attacks. Whether flying in the air or on foot, Astro takes on all comers in hyperkinetic style, darting around at light speed, blasting and punching foes like an underwear-sporting dynamo.

It’s also a reminder of just how much skill was required to best the best of the 8-bit consoles. Astro Boy constantly keeps you on your toes, throwing new styles of gameplay and bosses at the player at a rapid rate. Mastery of your special attacks is paramount to survival, as (in true Treasure style) this title chucks hordes of on-screen enemies and fire at you. Because it’s nearly impossible to avoid all the chaos through quick maneuvering, specials (which eradicate all bullets in their path) allow you that brief respite necessary to make your way to the next safe area. Also, since you can’t be hit while performing a quick-dash, staying extremely mobile is also in your best interest. For those that do make it through, there’s a very cool plot twist and a new mode that opens up at the end.

Astro Boy is definitely one of the highlights of gaming for me in 2004, and its pure and simple action is a perfect antidote to the poorly executed, overblown titles that clog store shelves these days.