With Apple’s iOS making definitive strides into the ever budding gaming market, it would seem reasonable to expect that some titles may attempt to make the jump from a device like iPad to the Mac–a process that has been aided even more so by the rapid growth of the Mac App Store. However, the question remains as to whether these bite sized gaming experiences translate over to success with the mouse a keyboard. Robokill – Rescue Titan Prime seeks to answer this question with their recent port of the iPad and iPhone game to the Mac platform. Is it going to be a smooth transition, or another bumpy flight?
Game: Robokill – Rescue Titan Prime
Publisher: Wandake LLC
Developer: Wandake LLC
Genre: Sci-Fi Action
Price: $4.99
Verdict: Addictive shooter action that lacks true depth and variety.
Acquired via Publisher
*Cue the “Deep Voice Guy” and an epic orchestral soundtrack please*
“In a world where man has is constantly in conflict with sentient robots hell-bound on humanity’s evisceration, one man has to fight his way through hordes of mechanical nuisances to emancipate the settlement of Titan Prime from the clutches of evil.”
*voice trails off, echoing into the distance*
It is hard to put a finger on why, but for some reason when you think of a game’s plot like a kick-ass movie trailer, suddenly everything seems a whole lot more interesting. The problem is, unless you haven’t played a video game or watched a science fiction film in the last three decades, most likely you have seen this storyline before.
Fortunately, story isn’t exactly something that players are going to have to focus on much in Robokill, because they are going to be too busy running for their lives while simultaneously igniting robots into a light show that would put even the most dramatic LSD trips to shame. But this isn’t just some mindless schmup either, because the game also features an amalgamation of several traditionally RPG centric features such as an addicting leveling system and loot drops aplenty.
As players make their way through room after room they will encounter robots of every make, model, and variety, all with the singular goal of turning your mech into a heaping pile of smoldering wreckage. Under most conditions, pretty much the moment someone walks into a room they are bombarded by attacks from every which way. Ducking and weaving behind obstacles located throughout the environment is essential in order to maintain your shields, so being mindful of the surroundings are critical to success.
Navigating is done using the standard WASD control scheme to move the character, while using an on-screen reticule to aim attack, which is mapped to either a mouse or touchpad. Those who are familiar with the dual analog control scheme of a game like Geometry Wars will most likely fell right at home, once they can get past the potentially awkwardly close hand placements when playing on a MacBook or MacBook Pro. Simply clicking and holding the mouse button will unleash a flood of hellfire aimed directly at the opposition. It is worth noting that there is no need to manage what weapons are being fired. The game will automatically fire all of the weapons that are equipped to your mech, in as quick a succession as humanly possible.
Upon dispatching of adversaries, they will occasionally jettison spare items that just cry out to be collected. These pieces of equipment, which can also have increased attribute perks over the base weapon at a certain level, can either be attached to your walking weapon of destruction or hocked at the store, in exchange for cash. Players also have the option of using this cash to upgrade their equipment as well, but the weaponry that can be used is limited by your character’s level.
Though the drive to pimp out your mech with the latest and greatest can be quite addicting, it becomes evident that Robokill is very much a one trick pony, with a very limited scope. Is it fun? You bet your ass it is. The problem is that there are only so many ways that a developer can approach a glorified series of kill rooms. You can take it to the bank knowing that is that once you walk into a room the door will seal behind you, and the only way that you are getting out is by eviscerating every last enemy, or getting your lower hindquarters handed to you on a silver platter. Outcomes are simply that binary.
If there were one thing that Robokill – Rescue Titan Prime does best, it is incentivizing the player with the ever present enticement of an increasingly powerful armory. This leads to the, “well, maybe one more room…” mentality that breeds addiction. On top of that, the game’s four hundred and sixty stages will offer quite a time sink, should the affliction take hold. Just be prepared to find yourself potentially uninterested in returning to the world of Titan Prime once the initial trance is broken, due to increasingly repetitive game mechanics and a jokingly non-existent storyline. Perfection this is not, but if you are looking for a great way to dip your toe into the world of gaming on a Mac, we couldn’t imagine a better place to start.
GrE Grade: B-
Popularity: 2% [?]
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