The Video Game Revue

Robotron 2084

I just wanted to take a quick minute to react to a review for Robotron 2084 (part of the XBox 360 arcade) that I saw on some site called Extreme Gamer:

Robotron has to be the weakest link in the line up of Midway games for Xbox Live Arcade. Simply because of Midways Smash TV which is a superior game that is more fun. Add in other stellar additions like Mutant Storm and Geotromety Wars and its hard to see any redeeming factors in Robotron 2084. It's interesting to play this game a few times, but you would have to be an old schooler to get into Robotron for any extended period of time.

I strongly disagree with these statements. First off, I didn't play Robotron 2084 for the first time until the game was more than fifteen years old, and I loved it. I'd actually played Smash TV a bunch of times before I'd ever played Robotron 2084, and I like Robotron 2084 much better. Robotron is a very "pure" kind of game--it elegantly provides challenge without complexity, and it's the sort of thing that you learn to play in 10 minutes and spend the rest of your life trying to master. In my opinion, it also has some of the best retro graphics and sound of any video game; I find it visually entertaining and the sound effects are rich and memorable. It surprises me to see a reviewer tear into Robotron 2084, especially while supporting Smash TV in the same breath.

posted by Parappa @ 2:03 PM