Battlebots 2015: Episode 1 Review

Finally got around to watching the opening episode of this new Battlebots, and you know what? It wasn't too much different from the old Battlebots. I recognized at least half of the 8 teams present, and two of the robots were old veterans. I mean, it wouldn't be Battlebots without Nightmare, would it? Anyway, the fights were good, I wish there had a couple more of them, 4 was not quite enough.

Icewave vs. Razorback

The robot with the big horizontal spinning bar beat a robot that really didn't have any way to counter a big horizontal spinning bar. Razorback got KO'd pretty fast, and that wasn't much of a surprise.

Wrecks vs. Plan X

Plan X controlled the fight for almost the entire match, until it apparently got stuck on something and Wrecks shuffled its way over (and I do mean shuffled) and destroyed half of the other robot. Went to a decision, with the victory ultimately going to Plan X. I agree with that decision, if only for the reason that I really don't want to spend any more time looking at Wrecks. I mean, I've seen some pretty stupid designs in all the years I've been watching Battlebots, and a robot that relies on momentum from its saw to shuffle awkwardly across the room is a pretty stupid design.

Warhead vs. Bite Force

This one went the whole 3 minutes, but it was no contest. Warhead, the old veteran robot from the old Battlebots, got shoved about the entire match, and did virtually nothing to its opponent. An easy victory for Bite Force

Warrior Clan vs. Nightmare

The robot might be different, but we all remember what happened the last time when the Whyachi team went against Nightmare. It didn't go much better for Nightmare this time around either. At least it didn't lose any wheels.

Some random thoughts to close out here:

Where are the stage hazards? Specifically, where were the Killsaws? I know they have them, but I never once saw them. Where's the more than a little crazy guy to control the hazards? I mean, there hardly seems like a point if they don't get used.

I guess this is just heavyweights for this tournament? Maybe? There's only 24 robots here, which is a much smaller scale than the old Battlebots, which had 4 divisions and more than a 100 robots in total. Of course, we never got to see every fight, and maybe ABC is just testing the waters to see if Battlebots still has an audience. Hopefully if we get another season we'll see a more diverse field.

I miss the old stage announcer. That guy was awesome.

All in all, I'd say that Battlebots still has the charm that I remember, and I'm looking forward to seeing more robot fights. Hopefully I can review the next episode in a slightly more timely fashion.