The first installment in the Buzz! Junior franchise had humor that was a little sophomoric at times, but the intent was fun. Enter the second title in the Junior series, RoboJam. Rather than feature monkeys, this game centers on – you guessed it – robots.

The game is a collection of 24 games that require timing or fast fingers, or both, to score points. The points are tallied after each round (game), with the top scorer for that round getting four bolts. Fourth place gets one bolt, but the nice thing about that is if everyone is competing and splitting the first-place finishes, no one is really out of contention to be the top bot.

This PS2 title, from SCEE, utilizes the Sony Buzz controller, which is a handheld device, attached to three other devices and inputs with the USB connection on the front of the PS2. Each buzzer has a big red button on top, and a panel of four colored buttons. Some of the games require only the use of the big red button on top (in one game you are jump shooting and putting glass eyes into robotic heads; the red button triggers the jump and then during the jump you have to hit it again to shoot the eye) while some are color coded and require you to hit the colored button that corresponds to what you see on the screen as quickly as possible. 

The game has several ways to play – play game (random selection of the games in the round), custom (you select the games you play) and practice. There are several game lengths as well – short, medium, long or marathon – and three difficulty settings.

Some of the games have similarities to games in the previous iteration in the series. There was the game with monkeys sitting in a hot tub with a gorilla, making bubbles (as in passing gas), while the gorilla slept. The idea was to not let the gorilla wake up and see your monkey making the bubbles. In RoboJam you have a robot in a can sneaking down toward a pit of bolts. There is a sentry that is sleeping. The idea is to get two bolts and then sneak back to deposit them in your bin without getting caught by the guard. Think of it as a game of go-go-go-stop.

Other games are similar to games included in this title. One will have you playing jump rope with a revolving laser while being chased by a robot in a motorized vehicle, another will have you using the color buttons to jump colored lasers while on a treadmill.

Rather than continually button mashing, the game does require some timing in some of the games. There is one that is a nod to the human-launching titles. In the RoboJam version, a giant bot – Chuck – picks up your tiny avatar, begins windmilling his arm and you have to time the release to get the best trajectory and the furthest distance. Wait too long and you will slip from Chuck’s grip and do a face plant a short distance away.

The 13-year old playing the game pitches on a girls’ fastpitch softball team. Go figure – she knew where the best release point was, scored the longest distance and won the event with ease.

RoboJam is a touch darker than its predecessor but some of the colors do stand out. The sound is merely average, though.

This is a game for one-to-four players. The CPU will fill in for any missing players and will not always finish last. You have to really flub the round, though, to be beat by the CPU. Still, this is a game that is geared for players 8 and up and should be a decent bit of family-oriented fun. It’s not innovative, nor will it wow you with its graphics, but the game still scores in the entertainment category and the group playing it did enjoy the experience.

Gameplay: 7.5
The gameplay has been improved with games that are a bit tougher, but more entertaining. The game mechanics are not hard to learn or to implement, making this a solid game for the family.

Graphics: 7.6
This game is a little darker than its predecessor, but is still a lush game with bright graphical elements and solid animation.

Sound: 7.0
Decent but not out of the ordinary.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 7.0
While some of the games are similar to the previous installment, the robot take makes them entertaining.

Multiplayer: 7.8
The CPU will fill in but get four in this for some entertaining moments. Some of the games are turn based, which can interrupt the flow, but it does not diminish the enjoyment.   

Overall: 7.5
Simply and entertaining, this game requires very little mental work but quick fingers and a decent sense of timing. It might be a little beyond the capabilities of younger players, but those from 8 or 9 and up should find this fun.