Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #358: RoboCop

RoboCop

Arcade

Nostalgia Factor:

This should be quick. Until a few days ago, I had never played this game before, nor did I even know that an arcade version of RoboCop existed.

Perfect game to pick for Mop Up Duty, don't you think? I don't have much else to say, so let's kick off the first of my three 1988 game reviews with RoboCop.

Story:

This game very, very loosely follows the plot of the first RoboCop film, not that it really matters. The plot means nothing in this game. You play as RoboCop as you fight against a group of evil bad guys who are looking to take over the city. At the end of the game, the focus of your fighting switches as you battle OCP, the corrupt corporation pumping out ED-209 walker robots. Defeat their leader, who cowardly grabs a woman to use as a human shield, and you beat the game.

Gameplay:

This is a pretty simple game. It starts off like it is going to be a beat-em-up, as you are only allowed to punch enemies at the very beginning of the game. About 30 seconds in, however, RoboCop pulls out his gun and the rest of the game becomes a shooter from then on out. Why they made the odd decision to only allow you to punch for about 30 seconds, I have no idea. I just review games.

The gameplay itself is nothing I haven't seen dozens of times already. You walk to the right and you shoot enemies. You pick up weapon upgrades. You jump over the occasional gap or obstacle. You fight a boss at the end of each stage. Pretty basic stuff, here. Your character moves extremely slow and is not maneuverable at all, so you often have no choice but to just sit there and absorb enemy bullets. Many of these stages become wars of attrition as you simply have to power your way through like a tank. There's little strategy to the boss fights either aside from jump and shoot. You can tell that this is a game designed to eat up your quarters because you die CONSTANTLY. I didn't keep track of how many virtual quarters I had to plug into the machine, but it was probably around 20 or so.

That's why it is hard for me to take this game too seriously. It's fun, sure, but there is little strategy to it. You run forward, you take a bunch of damage, and you shoot at enemies. You're going to get hit and you're going to die, and there's simply no way around it. Sunset Riders or Contra this game is not.

Graphics:

I think this game looks pretty good. RoboCop himself is easily identifiable and is a solid portrayal of the character. The ED-209 bosses look good. The stages are nice looking with some fun background details. I like the use of color in these backgrounds. The office building at the end of the game looks like it was pulled right from the movie. Visually, I don't have much to complain about here. Although it is an arcade game, RoboCop has a 16 bit feel to it. It looks like it would have been right at home on a Super Nintendo or Genesis console.

Sound:

I like this game's music and sound effects as well. The classic RoboCop theme song is flawlessly turned into stage music. It's one of my favorite movie themes of all time, so the first time I heard it, it brought a huge grin to my face. Occasional voice clips of RoboCop speaking are thrown into the action from time to time, and it helps to give the game a lot of personality. I can't understand what's being said in one of the voice clips, however, and it is one they use quite frequently. Comrade? Coming? Come in? Common? What is he saying????

Overall:

I liked this game, sure, but let's be real: it's no masterpiece. As I said before, it's nothing I haven't seen or played dozens of times in my life. You walk, you shoot, you get killed, you pump in another quarter, and you jump right back into the action. There's no strategy. There's little to no variety to be found in the gameplay, and no the shooting gallery bonus stages do not count as variety. If you're playing this game on an emulator, you'll fire it up and you'll likely have the whole thing beaten within about 20 minutes. There's not much to keep you coming back as far as replay value goes either. Once you finish this, you're pretty much done with it.

All that said, I still had an enjoyable time with the game, as short as that experience was. It's not original, no, but it's still pretty fun. The graphics are good. I loved the music and the sound effects. This game does have a certain undeniable charm to it, particularly if you're a fan of the source material. I can't give this game anything higher or lower than a dead average score, due to its limitations, its simplicity, its short length, and its severe lack of replayability. But I just want you to know, RoboCop, that I appreciate you.

THE GRADE:

40th Birthday Mop Up Duty Celebration Tour:

1982 reviews:

1983:

1984:

Frogger II: Threedeep!