Back when Run DMC was still rapping in the park and the Wu Tang Clan were sporting K-Swiss, Robotron 2084 was one of the best games around. Along with Defender and a few other games, Robotron 2084 took its place in the pantheon of video games. Programmed by Eugene Jarvis (who also worked on Defender and more recently Cruisin' USA), Robotron 2084 not only had an awesome look (colorful and busy) but also an innovative control configuration. Instead of a joystick to move and a button to fire, 2084 had two joysticks: one to move and one to fire. This gave player his first taste of 360 degree simulated 3-D action. And luckily, Robotron X for the Playstation both retains these Eugene Jarvis innovations and ups the ante in terms of graphics and music.
The concepts from the original game are the same in Robotron X. Although all of the bad guys are 3-D rendered, and the playfield scrolls in and out (depending on where the hero is), not much else has changed in terms of gameplay. Using the four Playstation buttons for firing up, down, left, and right, and combining two buttons to reach the diagonals, the 360 shooting remains intact. Robotron X even includes bosses and bonus rounds for those players who complete the primary objective and rescue all family members. And with 100 levels to play, this game delivers a lot of play for the money - especially for players who are into somewhat repetitive arcade shooters.
A note on the game's music: Though the tunes are described as "hard-core techno soundtracks," these songs are hardly hard-core and aren't that good. Other than this minor complaint, it looks like Williams has done well to go back to its roots, because this time it has come up with a winner.
