Robotica
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Robotica
- Release Date: 1995 09
- Genre: Action
- Style: First-Person Action
- Similar Games: Doom (Atari Jaguar), Wolfenstein 3d (Atari Jaguar), Duke Nukem 3D (game.com), Quake (Macintosh), Doom (IBM PC Compatible), Duke Nukem 3D (IBM PC Compatible), Quake (IBM PC Compatible), Doom (Sega Genesis 32X), Doom (Sega Saturn), Duke Nukem 3D (Sega Saturn), Quake (Sega Saturn), Doom (PlayStation), Doom (3DO), MechWarrior (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Wolfenstein 3d (3DO), Doom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), Quake (Nintendo 64), Wolfenstein 3d [DOS] (IBM PC Compatible), Wolfenstein 3d (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), MechWarrior (IBM PC Compatible), Doom (PlayStation), Doom (IBM PC Compatible), Doom (Sega Saturn)
Game Description
In the year 2077, a global government was established to monitor international events on Earth and to prevent the outbreak of war and other violent occurrences. This governing body was situated in Earth's orbit, in a massive, unmanned satellite called the W.S.S.S. Central Control Unit Dedalus. After eight hundred years of rule, enforced by war machines and mechs, the effectiveness and relevance of Dedalus to Earth's present day civilization have been called into question by many of the planet's inhabitants. Now, a group of underground terrorists has decided that it is the time for liberation.You are a member of this group, and you alone have been elected to infiltrate Dedalus and eliminate it. In order to accomplish this you will need to pilot your mech through the corridors of Dedalus' many levels, obliterating its robot drones and unlocking its gates, until finally coming upon the satellite's mainframe. At your disposal is a powerful Vulcan cannon with limited ammo, a shield built to withstand dozens of enemy blasts and just a single tank of fuel to power your auxiliary armaments: a hover jet, a fierce blaze laser and a plasma barrier for added protection against more formidable foes.
Destroy the Central Control Unit and free Earth from the iron grip of Dedalus!
~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
As far as gameplay, Robotica is a direct spawn of the first-person shooting style of 3D games like Doom. However, the look and feel of the game most resembles that of the MechWarrior series.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
In 1995 the first-person shooter game, or the "Doom Clone," was the most notorious, controversial and therefore most potentially profitable videogame genre on the market. As each new title surfaced, hoping to scratch the trigger fingers of disenfranchised teens and testosterone-soaked dudes everywhere, the ante became upped predictably.Founded by games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and Quake, the genre saw heavy amounts of synthesized gore and remorseless blasting. With Duke Nukem it even saw naked chicks adorning the backgrounds. What a boon, then, would the 32-bit console era provide developers who could finally bring the full PC, 3D experience home in full polygonal glory!
Enter the first-generation Saturn FPS title Robotica by Acclaim. Acclaim makes the requisite tweaks here and there to the game's story, presentation and Doom-like engine, presumably trying to offer a more cerebral, less Id(if you will)-feeding experience. Unfortunately, every resemblance to Doom or Quake that Acclaim erases from Robotica hurts the finished product and frags to death any sense of real paranoia or rush that make the former games so fun to play. We'll begin with the story, which holds the only real potential this game has.
In the year 2077, man has developed a global governing body whose law and order are enforced by war machines that monitor the world's activities from Earth's orbit. After several generations, the laws that the mechs were programmed to uphold seem irrelevant to the average earthling. That's where you step in, whoever you are. You're a member of a rebel group, sent out to a giant satellite orbiting the planet. This is the headquarters of the robot government, and for some reason (no surprise) you're the only guy dispatched out there to do the job. The only time your character is visible is during the very few cut-scenes that bookend the game's main levels. Your enemies are all, naturally, mechs.
This lack of a human element probably injures this game more than any other factor. Since you appear basically as a robot, engaged in a cold, rote warfare with other robots, Robotica has no emotional draw. It's clear the developers were trying to bring to the game a sense of alienation and paranoia that's thoroughly dehumanizing, but they've taken it to the point where your task seems purposeless. It's like it's all part of a program.
Speaking of program, the developers have taken the easy way out in terms of level design. Using a technique -- I've yet to find a gamer who actually enjoys this technique -- each level is randomly generated. This removes even more direction and purpose from the game, making each level essentially arbitrary tangles of sterile, metallic catacombs, where your single mission is to find the key and unlock the door to the next floor so you can do it all over again.
Having already violated Thumper's Law (If you don't have nuthin' nice to say...), I should give Robotica the few concessions it deserves. First off, the graphics, while repetitive and somewhat stale, are surprisingly crisp for a Saturn game made in 1995. The 3D animation isn't too bad, either. The background music is appropriate, unobtrusive and actually rather eerie. Lastly, the controls are as sharp as a gunblade, retaining the Saturn's most admirable feature when it comes to software. It's all here: running, strafing, blasting, blasting with other things, and it's completely intuitive.
If you've ever wanted to invade the ship of the Borg, and assimilate the whole damn place with a single laser cannon, then you may want to give Robotica a try -- well, I'm sure there are a host of Star Trek games that'll fit the bill better than this.
~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
The game lacks the intensity of other Doom clones.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Smooth and crisp, but awfully sterile overall.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
An eerie, ambient soundtrack fits the bill; the clanging of metal-on-metal is a nice touch.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Randomly generated mazes make for a fresh experience every time.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
Sparse, but straightforward instructions.~ Christian Huey, All Game Guide
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Robotica (video game)
| Robotica | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Micronet |
| Publisher(s) | Acclaim Entertainment (US) Sega (EU) & (JP) |
| Distributor(s) | SEGA |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Media/distribution | Sega Saturn CD-ROM |
Robotica (Robotica Cybernation Revolt in Europe, Deadalus in Japan) is a first-person shooter for the Sega Saturn in 1995 .
Synopsis
It is the year 2877. In 2077, the world's peacekeeping unions, such as the United Nations and the European Union have collapsed after years of global tensions, forcing humanity to establish a planetary government in order to maintain order. A government operating as the World Silent Security Service, also known as the W.S.S.S., is established and world peace is restored. The WSSS takes control of both the planet Earth and outer space, establishing its headquarters on the Central Control Station Daedalus in earth orbit. The WSSS eradicates the control of all previous unions and organizations and unites the whole of humanity under its control for over 800 years. However, with all of its original creators gone by that point in time, humanity questioned the justification of Deadulus's rule, and some began to rebel against the government in the wake of its so-called Archaic policies. The leading rebel group in this massive rebellion, the Reformist Faction, sends three elite pilots of the highly sophisticated Laocorn-class Assault Robots on a covert mission to destroy Daedalus. Once inside, two Laocorns are immediately destroyed, leaving the one survivor, the player character, to face Daedalus' massive robot armies and transverse vast, dark corridors in his quest to destroy Daedalus and to save humanity.
Gameplay
The player has to fight through thirty floors of the Deadalus space station to reach their ultimate objective. For every floor of the station there are key cards in random locations, each one required in order for the player to advance to the next stage. Few missions require the player to seek and destroy a specific object such as the station's reactor cores. The player could download floor maps and turn on the lights to darkened areas, but none of which were required for progress.
The player's mech-armor, the Laocorn, is equipped with four different weapons and a generator that enables the mech to perform one of many abilities. The weapons consisted of an arm-punch, Vulcan, Laser gun and Missile launcher, each one being upgradable in power and ammunition count. There were certain kamikaze enemies that appeared on floors that the player stayed too long in that carried downgrade items that, if the player picked the item up, would degrade the upgrade of whichever weapon they were armed with at that time. The Laocorn's generator abilities included helpful options in otherwise harmful situations. The abilities included Hover allowing the mech to hover a few feet over energy grids, Re-Fresh which replenishes the mech's energy, Plasma Barrier which serves as a temporary shield and the Blaze Laser which destroys EVERY enemy on screen. Each ability consumed a certain level of generator energy which could be refilled through Generator pick-up items.
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