RoboCop computer and video games

"RoboCop" is a 1987 action movie set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future. "RoboCop" centres a police officer that is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg, otherwise known as a "RoboCop". Two sequels followed with computer and video games conversions done for each film.

RoboCop

Infobox VG
title= RoboCop


caption= Promotional poster for the first arcade game
developer= Ocean Software, Data East, Titus Software (Game Boy Advance)
publisher= Data East, Ocean Software, MGM Interactive (Game Boy Advance)
released= 1988, 1989, 2003
genre= Sidescroller
modes= 2 players, alternating turns
platforms= Arcade, Atari ST, Game Boy, Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC compatible with MS DOS, MSX, NES, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC,, TRS-80 CoCo
input= 8-way joystick, 2 buttons

"RoboCop" is a run and gun game originally released for arcades released in 1988 by Data East and developed by Ocean Software. Other reworked versions appeared for home computers and video game consoles, most of them handled by Ocean, as well as a NES version released by Data East itself. It has more recently appeared on mobile phones.

The games capture the spirit of the "RoboCop" film to some degree, as it involves killing generic criminals and enemy bosses, like the dangerous ED-209. Being quite popular, "RoboCop" was followed by several sequels (most of them handled by Ocean), including "RoboCop 2", "RoboCop 3", and "RoboCop versus The Terminator" which was developed for, but never released in arcades, and was later ported to several other consoles including the Sega Megadrive, Super NES, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, and even as a final generation title for the Sega Master System in Europe.

Reception

The ZX Spectrum port of "RoboCop" achieved particular critical success, receiving a CRASH Smash award from "CRASH" [ [http://www.crashonline.org.uk/59/robocop.htm "RoboCop"] review from "CRASH" issue 59, December 1988; retrieved from CRASH Online] and "Your Sinclair" gave 8 out of 10 [ [http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/robocop.htm "RoboCop"] review from "Your Sinclair" issue 39, March 1989; retrieved from The Your Sinclair Rock 'n' Roll Years] , also placing it at number 94 in the Your Sinclair official top 100. The overall opinion was that this port was better than the original arcade game. Its capture of the original material, smooth scrolling and animation, sampled speech and sound effects were highlighted.

In addition, the ZX Spectrum "RoboCop" was one of the biggest selling games on that platform and was number one in the sales charts for over a year and a half [ [http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/completeguidetoshootemups2.htm "The YS Complete Guide To Shoot-'em-ups Part II"] from "Your Sinclair" issue 56, August 1990; retrieved from The Your Sinclair Rock 'n' Roll Years] ] .

Remakes and other games

There was more recently in 2003 a new RoboCop game released by Titus Software, it was a first person shooter game. It received very poor reviews and was looked down upon in the fan community. Titus also developed a version for the Game Boy Advance which was a recreation of the arcade game that was ultimately never released.

RoboCop 2

Infobox VG
title = Robocop 2


developer = Ocean, Special FX Ltd
publisher = Ocean, Data East Corporation
released = 1990, 1991
genre = Platform, Shoot-em-up
platforms = ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad GX4000, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, NES, Arcade
media = Amiga, ST: Diskette
Spectrum: Cassette tape
Amstrad CPC, C64: Cartridge
input = Joystick, keyboard

"RoboCop 2" is a series of video games published in the 1990s by Ocean and Data East for various home computers and video game consoles. They are based on the movie of the same name. Three different games were produced, each produced on two systems.

The version for the Commodore 64 and NES was a simple left-to-right scrolling platformer, in which Robocop was required to collect/destroy at least two-thirds of the drug "nuke" in each level and arrest two-thirds of the suspects by running into them (in contrast to shooting them). If Robocop does not manage to attain the required amounts of nuke or number of arrests then he has two chances in the game to prove his efficiency at a shooting range. If he succeeds, he may continue onto the next level. If he fails, or if both chances at the shooting range are already used up, he must repeat the level.

The version for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC was also a platform game, but one that offered movement in both directions (vertically and horizontally) as well as into various areas providing an element of exploration. There were also a number of puzzle sub-games that had to be completed to progress in the game.

The version for the 16-bit Commodore Amiga and Atari ST was similar in nature to the 8-bit Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions, but contained completely different levels to take advantage of the extra power offered by these computers.

There was also an arcade-only version of Robocop 2, produced in 1991 by Data East, which allowed up to two players at once (one controlling the original Robocop, the other controlling a slightly purple-hued clone). The game followed the basic premise of the movie, but had some major sequential differences. [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=2241]

It was a mostly side-scrolling shoot-em-up, with some levels viewed from behind Robocop and providing a targeting reticle with which to kill generic criminals. Compared to all RoboCop 2 games, it features the most advanced graphics.

RoboCop 3

Infobox VG
title = RoboCop 3


developer = Digital Image Design
publisher = Ocean
released = 1993
genre = Platform, Shoot-em-up
platforms = ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, NES, Super NES, Sega Master System, IBM PC
media = Amiga, ST: Diskette
Spectrum: Cassette tape
C64, Master System: Cartridge
input = Joystick, keyboard, mouse

"RoboCop 3" is a 1992 video game published by Ocean. It is based on the movie of the same name. The Amiga, ST and IBM PC versions of the game were developed by Digital Image Design, and were renowned and acclaimed for the 3D engine used. The more advanced version of this game for the Amiga, PC and Atari ST featured first person car chases and first person shooter sequences as well as a flying sequence.

The Amiga version comes with a choice of three languages: English, French and German. There are two game modes "Movie Adventure" that follows a story-line and "Arcade Action" where the player can choose between five different single levels. The "Movie Adventure" mode opens up with a cut-scene (the cut-scenes are made with subtitled 2D panels and movies with a mix of 2D and 3D graphics) where a newscasts details how the building of the new Delta City is creating a new class of homeless people and a wave of crime by a new gang called "Splatterpunks". A new police unit named "Rehabs" have been set up in response to this. The newscast then reports of a hostage situation in the city and the game cuts to the action where RoboCop is in pursuit of a stolen van. The player (represented by a green dot on the ingame map) is to stop the van (represented by an orange dot) by ramming it with his police car. If approached from the rear, the residents of the van will open fire lowering the health (called "Efficiency" in the game) of the player. Other obstacles include civilian cars on the road, terrain and buildings. After the van has been stopped the player's next goal is to assist officer Lewis inside an apartment building (represented by a white dot on the ingame map). The controls for driving the car is the keyboard cursor keys and the mouse. Somewhat different from most other racing games is the fact that no loss of speed occurs when turning only when moving the steering wheel.

Once the player has driven there, a first person shooter sequence follows where the player must find officer Lewis (who is being held hostage) in under two minutes. The only guide to where Lewis is is a beeping noise that gets more frequent the closer the player gets to the goal. The level consists of corridors where the player must avoid shooting civilians (doing so lowers health) and shoot the opposing Splatterpunks who can attack by shooting and throwing handgrenades. Getting hit by a handgrenade lowers the health to zero immediately but the grenades can be shot out of the air as well. The controls are somewhat peculiar compared to what is standard today. Holding the right mouse button moves the player forward, left clicking fires the gun (unlimited ammo) and moving the cursor to the sides turns the perspective. There is no keyboard control and no "strafing" (sideways movement) that is common in other FPS games.

The NES edition of "RoboCop 3" is a traditional single-player, side-scrolling game with a storyline and background that loosely follows the film. A unique, memorable feature is the fact that each of RoboCop's body parts has a separate damage rating. Heavily damaged parts can result in "malfunctions," such as erratic firing (if the arm holding the weapon is damaged) or difficulty walking (if legs are damaged). The player has the opportunity to repair RoboCop's parts between levels.

The Super NES edition of "RoboCop 3" is also a traditional single-player side-scrolling game. It was developed by Ocean Software and had what many considered to be extremely difficult gameplay. It was largely critically panned upon release. Flying Edge (a subsidiary of Acclaim Entertainment) would later port this version to other consoles, including the Sega Genesis and Sega Master System.

RoboCop versus The Terminator

"RoboCop versus The Terminator" was released for a number of platforms and based on the RoboCop and Terminator franchises.

In the future, human soldiers of John Connor's resistance force against the machines are fighting a losing war against Skynet and its robot forces. Discovering that one of the foundation technologies for Skynet is the cybernetics technology used in the creation of cyborg police officer RoboCop, Flo, a resistance soldier, is sent back in time to destroy RoboCop and stop Skynet from being built. However Skynet learns of the time travel attempt and sends Terminators to stop Flo.

In the game, the player controls RoboCop, who may move across the screen, jump, fire and exchange weapons. RoboCop starts with the Auto-9 which has unlimited ammunition. Other weapons may be more powerful and carry unlimited ammunition as well. Beginning the game on a mission of law enforcement, RoboCop soon meets up with Flo and must engage in battle against Terminators, the forces of OCP and several obstacles. Upon discovering one of the Terminators has infiltrated the OCP building, RoboCop plugs himself into a console to reprogram the security, only to fall into a trap and be digitized. After his body is disassembled and used for building Skynet, RoboCop watches Skynet come to power before using his digitized mind to seize control of an abandoned robotics factory, rebuild himself, and begin to destroy Skynet in the future.

References

External links

*KLOV game|id=9343
*WoS game|id=0004179|name=RoboCop
* [http://www.cpczone.net/game/738 Robocop] at CPC Zone
* [http://www.robocoparchive.com/games/games.htm Robocop Games] Information on several games in the franchise.
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/robocop Robocop at MobyGames]
* [http://playstationmuseum.com/Games/BETA/BTA-074.htm Robocop PlayStation Tech Demo at The PlayStation Museum]
*moby game|id=/robocop-2|name="RoboCop 2"