RoboCop 2 (video game)

Last updated
RoboCop 2
RoboCop 2 game cover.jpg
Developer(s)
  • Special FX (Amiga/Atari ST)
  • Painting by Numbers (C64/Game Boy/NES)
  • Data East (Arcade)
  • Ocean Software (ZX Spectrum/Amstrad CPC)
Publisher(s) Ocean Software
Data East (Arcade)
Director(s) Men Taiko (arcade)
Designer(s) Toru Kikuchi
Katsumi Kurihara (hardware)
Programmer(s)
  • Takaaki Inoue
  • Yasuhiko Nomura
  • Masao Ishikawa
Artist(s)
  • Tomo Adachi
  • Yoshiyuki Ishibiki
  • Masayuki Inoshita
  • Yasuko Hirane
  • Seiichiro Ishiguro
  • Yoshihiro Yamamoto
  • Yoshiyuki Urushibara
  • Yoshinari Kaiho
  • Eiko Kurihara
  • Masateru Inagaki
Composer(s)
  • Keith Tinman (Amiga/Atari ST)
  • Jonathan Dunn (C64/Game Boy/NES)
  • Tatsuya Kiuchi
  • Tomoyoshi Sato (Arcade)
Series RoboCop
Platform(s)
Release1990–91
Genre(s) Platform
Shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

RoboCop 2 is a platform shooter video game based on the 1990 film of the same name. The game was released for several platforms, including Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. Ocean Software developed and published several versions, and Data East manufactured an arcade version.

Contents

A sequel, RoboCop 3 , was released in 1991-93, itself based on the film of the same name.

Gameplay

RoboCop 2 is based on the 1990 film of the same name, in which a Detroit cyborg cop known as RoboCop must stop a drug distributor, Cain, from spreading a new drug known as Nuke. [1] [2] [3] The Game Boy and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) versions are primarily shoot 'em up games. [4] They differ from the Amiga, Amstrad GX4000 and Commodore 64 versions, which also differ from each other. [4] In addition to side-scrolling platform levels, the Amiga and ZX Spectrum versions include other levels consisting of first-person shooting galleries – an aspect from the original RoboCop game [5] – and a puzzle game in which the player must help RoboCop remember his memories by arranging certain electronic chips. [6] [4] [7]

Development and release

The Amiga and Atari ST versions were developed by Special FX and published by Ocean Software, [5] [8] [9] which also developed the NES and Game Boy versions. [4] [7] Programming of the Amiga version began months before the film's release. [5] As a guide, the Special FX development team was given a pre-release version of the film that excluded several scenes. [8] The team was also given a preliminary script of the film and pictures of the characters. [5] Audio samples from the film, including RoboCop's gunfire and footsteps, were added into the Amiga version. [5] The ZX Spectrum and Amiga versions include digitized scenes from the film. [6] [7]

In the United Kingdom, Ocean released the Amiga version in November 1990, [7] followed by the release of the Amstrad GX4000, Game Boy and Atari ST versions the following month. [1] [7] [10] A Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version had been released in the United States by April 1991. [11] An arcade version, manufactured by Data East, was also released in 1991. [3]

Reception

The Amiga version received praise for its graphics and sound, [12] [7] [14] [17] [15] but some reviewers criticized its lack of originality. [7] [14] [17] Raze called it "challenging and extremely well presented" and noted the "especially addictive" puzzle sections. [7] The One , reviewing the Amiga version, considered the game to be an improvement over its predecessor, particularly for its platform-based gameplay. However, The One noted that the game omitted several notable sequences from the film. [10] CU Amiga praised the "addictive" gameplay and called RoboCop 2 "the best licensed product" of 1990. [5] Maff Evans of Amiga Format criticized the difficult controls, but praised the gameplay, calling it "enjoyable". [16] Amiga Power also criticized the controls, [17] while Amiga Computing criticized the game's difficulty. [15] Computer and Video Games , reviewing the Amiga and ZX Spectrum versions, noted the difficult gameplay as well. [12]

The One also reviewed the arcade version of RoboCop 2 in 1991, calling it "an uninspired follow-up to the original arcade smash. A few bells and whistles have been added, but although the sprites are bigger than last time out, the overall graphic quality is lower." The One furthermore expresses that "You'd have to be a real fan to get much out of this." [20]

The Atari ST version received praise for its graphics and sound, [14] [18] as did the ZX Spectrum version. [13] [6] [4] [12] Crash praised the ZX Spectrum version for its various gameplay styles, stating that they make RoboCop 2 "one of the few games actually worth the asking price!" Crash concluded that the game was "fast, furious, addictive and a hell of a lot of fun to play!" [6] Your Sinclair , reviewing the ZX Spectrum version, considered the game to be better than its predecessor, noting larger levels and stating that the game was "one of the best film conversions Ocean have ever done". [4]

Mean Machines praised the graphics of the Amstrad GX4000 version, but criticized the "incredibly frustrating" gameplay. [1] Commodore Format praised the sound and gameplay of the Commodore 64 version, but criticized the "gaudy" graphics, stating that they lacked atmosphere. [2] Nintendo Power , reviewing the NES version, noted that the character of RoboCop can be initially difficult to control. [11]

In Japan, Game Machine listed the arcade version of RoboCop 2 on their April 15, 1991 issue as being the twenty-fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. [21]

The ZX Spectrum version won "Best Game Overall" in the 1990 Crash Readers' Awards, after being chosen by 21 percent of the magazine's readers. [22] The ZX Spectrum version also won fifth place in the 1990 Your Sinclair Readers' Awards, and by April 1991 had reached second place in UK sales behind Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles . [23]

Related Research Articles

<i>Paperboy</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Paperboy is an action game developed and published by Atari Games and released as an arcade video game in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.

<i>Operation Thunderbolt</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Operation Thunderbolt is a light gun shooter video game developed by Taito and released for arcades in 1988. As the sequel to Operation Wolf, changes include two-player gameplay with two positional gun controllers mounted on the arcade cabinet, and a new forward-scrolling pseudo-3D perspective combined with side-scrolling sections.

Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.

<i>Plotting</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Plotting is a tile-matching puzzle video game published by Taito in 1989. It is called Flipull in Japan as well as in versions for the Famicom and Game Boy. As Plotting it was ported to the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, GX4000, and ZX Spectrum. The game bears strong graphical and some gameplay similarities to Puzznic.

<i>Buster Bros.</i> 1989 video game

Pang, originally released in Japan as Pomping World and known in North America as Buster Bros., is a 1989 action game released by Mitchell Corporation for arcades in 1989. It was the tenth game released for Capcom's CP System arcade hardware.

<i>Navy SEALs</i> (video game) 1990–1991 video game

Navy SEALs is a shoot 'em up platform video game developed and published by Ocean Software. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad GX4000 and Commodore 64 in 1990. It was later re-released in the rest of Europe for the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga home computers in the following year. It was then ported to the Game Boy on 1 September 1991 in the United States. The game is based on the film of the same name and follows the protagonist, Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, progressing through five side-scrolling levels.

<i>RoboCop 3</i> (video game) 1991 video game

RoboCop 3 is a video game based on the 1993 film of the same name. Amiga, Atari ST and DOS versions were developed by Digital Image Design beginning in September 1990, and published by Ocean Software in December 1991. The Digital Image Design version includes multiple gameplay styles. During 1992 and 1993, other versions consisting of side-scrolling platform gameplay were released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, NES, Super NES, Game Gear, Master System, and Sega Genesis.

<i>Cybernoid</i> 1988 video game

Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine is a shoot 'em up developed and published in 1988 by Hewson Consultants for the ZX Spectrum. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, and Nintendo Entertainment System. It was programmed by Raffaele Cecco. The ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, and Atari ST versions have a main theme by Dave Rogers, while the Commodore C64 version has a different theme by Jeroen Tel.

<i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game</i> 1989 video game

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game was published in 1989 by Lucasfilm Games, based on the film of the same name. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga, IBM PC, MSX, Master System, NES, Game Boy, Sega Genesis and Game Gear.

<i>Silkworm</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Silkworm is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed by Tecmo and first released for arcades in 1988. In 1989 it was ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and NES (1990) systems by The Sales Curve and released by Virgin Mastertronic.

<i>Back to the Future Part II</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Back to the Future Part II is a 1990 action game based on the 1989 film of the same name. It was developed and published by Image Works for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. The game has five levels based on scenes from the film, and was criticized as a poor conversion of the film. It was followed by Back to the Future Part III.

<i>Welltris</i> 1989 video game

Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doca and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. It is an official game in the Tetris series. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc., for Spectrum HoloByte, and by Infogrames. It was released for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in 1989. Ports for Macintosh, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST followed in 1990, then ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1991.

<i>RoboCop</i> (1988 video game) 1988 video game

RoboCop is a run & gun and beat 'em up video game developed and published by Data East for arcades in 1988 based on the 1987 film of the same name. It was sub-licensed to Data East by Ocean Software, who obtained the rights from Orion Pictures at the script stage. Data East and Ocean Software subsequently adapted the arcade game for home computers.

<i>Yogis Great Escape</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Yogi's Great Escape is a platform game based on the 1987 movie of the same name. It was developed by British studio PAL Developments and published in 1990 by Hi-Tec Software as a budget game. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit computers, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>The Real Ghostbusters</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Switchblade</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Switchblade is a 1989 side-scrolling action-platform run and gun video game originally developed by Core Design and published by Gremlin Graphics in Europe for the Atari ST home computers. The first installment in the eponymous two-part series, the game is set in a dystopian future where players assume the role of Hiro from the Blade Knights as he embarks on a journey to defeat Havok, the main antagonist who broke free from his imprisonment after the sacred Fireblade was shattered into several pieces. Its gameplay consists of run and gun action mixed with platforming and exploration elements, with a main single-button configuration.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>Terminator 2</i> (computer game) 1991 video game

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 action video game developed by Dementia and published by Ocean Software. It is based on the 1991 film of the same name, and was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, and ZX Spectrum. It is a sequel to The Terminator, itself based on the 1984 film of the same name. The game features several gameplay styles such as driving, fighting, and puzzle-solving.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "RoboCop 2 (GX4000)". Mean Machines. United Kingdom. December 1990. pp. 38–39. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "RoboCop 2 (C64)". Commodore Format. January 1991. pp. 18–19. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "RoboCop 2". Arcade-Museum.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "RoboCop 2 (ZX Spectrum)". Your Sinclair. December 1990. pp. 14–15. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Slingsby, Dan (December 1990). "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". CU Amiga. pp. 50–51. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "RoboCop 2 (ZX Spectrum)". Crash. January 1991. p. 71. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". Raze. December 1990. pp. 48–29. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Insight: RoboCop 2". CU Amiga. September 1990. pp. 12–13. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Under Wraps: RoboCop 2". Zero. September 1990. pp. 20–23. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". The One. December 1990. pp. 140–142. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "RoboCop 2: RoboCop Jumps Into Action". Nintendo Power. April 1991. p. 89. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga/ZX Spectrum)". Computer and Video Games. February 1991. p. 65. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Sumpter, Garth (January 1991). "RoboCop 2 (ZX Spectrum)". Sinclair User. pp. 10–11. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Douglas, Jim (February 1991). "RoboCop 2 (Amiga/Atari ST)". ACE. pp. 44–45. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". Amiga Computing. April 1993. p. 25. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Evans, Maff. "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". p. 144. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga)". Amiga Power. May 1991. p. 109. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  18. 1 2 "RoboCop 2 (Amiga/Atari ST)". Zero. January 1991. pp. 42–43. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  19. ↑ "RoboCop 2 (NES)". VideoGame (in Portuguese). July 1991. pp. 20–22. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  20. ↑ Cook, John (April 1991). "Arcades: RoboCop II". The One. No. 31. emap Images. p. 87.
  21. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 401. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 April 1991. p. 25.
  22. ↑ "1990 Crash Readers' Awards". Crash. April 1991. p. 22. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Top 5 Readers' Games of 1990 / YS Speccy Gallup Charts". Your Sinclair. April 1991. pp. 25–26. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.