Robotron X

Last updated
Robotron X
Robotron X Coverart.png
Developer(s) Leland Interactive Media
Player 1
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) PlayStation, Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: December 24, 1996 [1]
  • PAL: March 1997
Windows
Genre(s) Multidirectional shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Robotron X is a multidirectional shooter video game co-developed by Leland Interactive Media and Player 1 and it was released by Midway Games in November 1996 for the PlayStation. It is a 3D version of the 1982 dual-stick shooter Robotron: 2084 . GT Interactive published a Microsoft Windows port in 1997. A Nintendo 64 version was released in 1998 as Robotron 64 , and Crave Entertainment bought out the publishing rights to the N64 version. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

Robotron X has gameplay similar to the original, but with 3D graphics. RobotronX-gameplay.jpg
Robotron X has gameplay similar to the original, but with 3D graphics.

Robotron X features updated graphics and audio, and also multiple different angles for the camera. [3] [4]

Reception

While the game uses gameplay similar to the original, Robotron X was not as well-received, [5] [3] though reviews for it ranged from mixed to positive. [6] [7] [8] [9] Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams felt that the moving camera featured in the 3D environment was a negative, and that the original overhead perspective format of a single screen actually presented all the information a player and relied more on the skill of the player. They felt that the moving camera angle obscured playing field areas which would make it hard for the player to avoid being shot when an enemy appears suddenly. [3] Some critics cited this as the game's one major flaw. [8] [9] John Vince felt the same way, stating that gameplay suffered due to missing important aspects that the original had. [10] Rollings and Adams instead attribute the late 1990s fad involving classic video game remakes in part to the release of Robotron X, [3] though at the time of that release it was believed this fad was already in place. [6]

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five. [8]

Aaron Curtiss for the Los Angeles Times recommended the game for fans of the original, but thought that others would decry it as "mindless". [11]

Bro' Buzz for GamePro was complimentary to its gameplay and graphics. [12]

Malcolm Mayhew for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave the game 2 1/2 stars, saying that the game had good idea, but bad execution. [13]

Reviews

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References

  1. ↑ "Online Gaming Review". 1997-02-27. Archived from the original on 1997-02-27. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  2. ↑ Staff, I. G. N. (1997-11-12). "Robotron X Gears Up for the Holidays". IGN. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rollings, Andrew; Adams, Ernest (2003). Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design . New Riders. p. 283. ISBN   1-59273-001-9.
  4. ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Robotron X - Overview - allgame". Allgame . Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  5. ↑ GamesTM Staff (October 2005). "Robotron: 2084 Behind the Scenes". GamesTM (36): 146–149.
  6. 1 2 "Review Crew: Robotron X". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 90. Ziff Davis. January 1997. p. 66. The first rule of gaming: All things must go 3-D. The second rule: All classics must be revived. Like it or not, that's the trend.
  7. ↑ "Robotron X Review". GameSpot . December 1, 1996. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 "Robotron X". Next Generation . No. 27. Imagine Media. March 1997. pp. 88, 90.
  9. 1 2 "PlayStation ProReview: Robotron X". GamePro . No. 101. IDG. February 1997. p. 72.
  10. ↑ Vince, John (2002). Handbook of Computer Animation. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 19–20. ISBN   1-85233-564-5.
  11. ↑ Curtiss, Aaron (1997-05-01). "Blast Chamber Explodes Without Impact". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  12. ↑ "GamePro Issue 091 February 1997".
  13. ↑ "Article clipped from Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 25 January 1997. p. 65.
  14. ↑ "GamesRadar+". 22 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "PC Zone". computerandvideogames.com.[ dead link ]
  16. ↑ "Robotron 64 Review".
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