Part classic 80s action film, part social satire (that sadly has become reality with each passing year), the RoboCop franchise has done capitalism right from toys, TV shows, comic books, cartoons, and of course, video games. And as is the norm, the video game adaptations run the gamut in quality, much like the later film entries.
We’re still waiting on what’s become of the RoboCop project Neill Blomkamp was attached to a few years ago, along with the recently-announced RoboCop: Rogue City. But in the meantime, let’s reminisce on what’s come so far, on the video games front.
RoboCop – Arcade, NES, Game Boy, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, IBM PC, Amstrad CPC (1988)
Hearing the Attract Mode sounds from this cabinet in the arcade was iconic. Fresh off of the success of Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja the previous year, Data East used a similar sidescrolling basis for RoboCop. While it was a pretty standard left-to-right affair (with not much platforming), it was still fun to mow down thugs with Robo’s Auto 9. As for being faithful to the film, the game plays it pretty loosely. You start out on the streets, move to a junkyard, a narcotics factory, then end up arriving at OCP headquarters at the end of the game to face off against ED-209 for the final time.
NES owners ended up getting a different experience with Ocean’s port of the game, which was so-so. Unlike the arcade version, Robo can’t jump, and feels slower than his arcade counterpart. Also, it’s completely scripted as to when you take out the Auto 9, so the rest of the time you’ll be punching out crooks (and being frustrated by the attack dogs). Having the Time “meter” tick down as you trudged along didn’t make it any easier. Like the arcade version, you did have hostage-taking moments, but in the NES version, you absolutely needed to avoid shooting the hostages.
The versions for the Game Boy, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, IBM PC and Amstrad CPC stuck closer to the original arcade in their look and feel, though are much more difficult.
RoboCop 2 – Arcade, NES, Game Boy, Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64 (1990 – 1991)
Data East retained the rights for the sequel, and released a follow-up in the arcade that greatly expanded upon the original game. No longer was RoboCop stuck going left to right, the game was now a proper beat-’em-up, with a few instances that had Robo turning towards the background for a shooting gallery segment. You also had the return of the first-person bonus stages, though you now rode a police cruiser or motorcycle and targeted enemies.
RoboCop 2 plays closer to the plot of the film than the first game. You start out beating up thugs in a gun shop, then move on to busting up the factory manufacturing Nuke, infiltrating the abandoned factory for the failed drug deal, investigating the Omni robot factory for Cain, and finally facing off against Cain himself. The fun part is the abandoned factory, where you have the Nuke turning enemies into zombies that explode in gooey chunks when you kill them. The final battle with Cain attempts to mimic the film, right down to falling off of the roof and driving Cain into the ground below.
As for the home versions, the game returned to a sidescrolling affair once again developed by Ocean. All of the ports use a system (or variation) when you now must meet certain criteria in terms of arrests and grabbing Nuke vials to “pass” the level. In the case of the NES version, if you fail that, you need to complete a shooting range minigame to pass the level. RoboCop moves much faster now to the point where he practically slides around, which is never a good thing when you’re platforming. Shoddy collision detection adds insult to injury, as you can fall to your death from not landing on a platform’s sweet spot.
Compared to the NES port of the original game, the graphics have taken a step back in spots, where in-game sprites look far more cartoony, contrasting against the more realistic portraits of RoboCop in the various screens in between levels. The various computer versions fare far better than the NES version, so if you must play a version of the game, track down those instead.
RoboCop 3 – Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, NES, SNES, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis (1991 – 1993)
Mirroring the ongoing production troubles of the film at the time, the various releases of RoboCop 3 were spread out over three years. The first releases were the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS versions in 1991. Because of Orion’s secretive nature regarding the script, developer Digital Image Design had to guess with a lot of the game’s story events, resulting in inaccuracies. These ports used 3D polygonal graphics, and allowed players to play the levels in any order (Arcade mode), or “follow” the film’s story (Movie Adventure mode).
The gameplay is a mix of third and first-person perspectives, with driving and shooting/action segments. The first-person action segments have you targeting and shooting thugs, mimicking RoboCop’s HUD from the films almost exactly. Unfortunately, it’s slow and clunky, and in the third-person view, it’s downright unplayable. But given the primitive computing power at the time, it’s understandable. The game also has you taking on one of the android ninja replacements, which again, given Orion’s reluctance to share the script with DID, bears little resemblance to the film’s version.
While primitive today, these were downright amazing back in 1991. Landmark titles like BioForge and System Shock were still years away, and seeing polygonal graphics like this in a computer game was a sight to behold.
The next versions of the game released were for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, NES and SNES versions in 1992. These versions returned to the sidescrolling platformer themes of the previous games, though the Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions had the added bonus of an Operation Wolf-style first level where you gunned down punks. From there, the games followed similar left-to-right platforming mechanics. The NES was the worst of the lot, though its SNES counterpart wasn’t too far behind. The game’s sheer difficulty, combined with shoddy graphics, sound and clunky control made it a chore to play on Nintendo’s consoles. The Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions fared better, but were still difficult.
The Genesis and Game Gear versions followed in 1993, with Acclaim’s Flying Edge doing the publishing duties. These didn’t improve upon the SNES/NES versions, with the same difficulty issues plaguing these releases. Combined with shoddy graphics and lack of real innovation (other than a few new weapons), it wasn’t worth it for any console owner to play RoboCop 3 on any platform.
RoboCop Versus The Terminator – NES (unreleased), SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear (1993 – 1994)
The year of the crossover for genre fans. Not only did we get Alien Vs. Predator in 1993 on the SNES, but RoboCop and the T-800 also went head to head, with each platform getting a slightly different version. Whereas the SNES version stuck closer to the Dark Horse Comics storyline, the Genesis version is slightly tweaked.
For those not in the know, the original story (by Frank Miller, no less) had John Connor sending a resistance fighter, Flo, into the past to destroy RoboCop, who would unwittingly aid Skynet in the destruction of mankind. However, Skynet learns of the time travel attempt and sends Terminators to stop Flo. In the Genesis version, RoboCop in the present is lured into a trap by Terminators to upload himself into the OCP computer network, where he becomes the seed from which Skynet grows. Years later, in the post-apocalyptic future, RoboCop is reactivated and must help the human resistance to defeat Skynet once and for all.
Released first in 1993, the SNES version is considered the more inferior version. While graphically, the SNES has more detail and colour, the animation is choppier. It’s sort of made up with later levels where you have first-person sections (in glorious Mode 7), but the overall gameplay is boring. There’s nothing really to make it stand out from other platformers on the system. You walk from left to right (sometimes right to left), shooting T-800s, waiting for them to get back up, and shooting them again. The music doesn’t do the game any favours, either. It’s slow and unmemorable, and doesn’t do anything exciting to compensate for the mundane action.
Contrast this with the Genesis version released in 1994. Not only does the run n’ gun gameplay feel faster compared to the SNES version’s sluggishness, but the music has a far more enjoyable edge to it (not to mention the sampled voices). It’s just more fun to play. The other great thing is the Genesis version’s use of blood. Human enemies explode in the red stuff, which is shocking, given the game’s MA-13 rating. You can even enable extra frames of gore by inputting a cheat code. About the only real flaw with the Genesis version is the difficulty. It has the “tough but fair” aspect, but you take damage from enemy contact as well as from projectiles. When coupled with the fact that RoboCop has next-to-no recovery time (or more significantly, invincibility frames), you’ll often end up with a large chunk of your health gone if you end up landing on an enemy by mistake. Nevertheless, the Genesis version is the better version of the two.
Interestingly, there was an NES version in development that again would make changes to the original story. The story would pit RoboCop against an evil copy of himself and the Terminators, which went back in time to kill not only John Connor, but also Robocop, himself. Flo, the same resistance soldier from the original story, travels back to warn RoboCop, who now has to stop both Skynet and his copy. Development was eventually cancelled, given the limitations of the NES hardware, but a prototype ROM was eventually discovered and released onto the ‘net. And yes, Virgin Interactive was correct in cancelling it: the game is very not good.
RoboCop – Game Boy Color (2001)
Titus Interactive (of Superman 64 fame) resurrected RoboCop after nearly a decade of inactivity in the video game world, but the result was as you might expect. The story for the game sees OCP develop a supercomputer which they’ve named “The Mind”. Surprise, surprise, unknown to OCP, The Mind has secretly been infiltrating computer networks around the world. Eventually, OCP puts The Mind in control of the security systems of Delta City. At the same time, a gang war erupts in the city and several labs end up being looted. RoboCop is assigned to locate a gang leader known as Nexx, who is potentially behind the break-ins, and to bring him in.
Played from a top-down view, RoboCop‘s gameplay is straightforward in terms of defeating a particular enemy in a level, but also borrows the evidence gathering element in some levels from RoboCop 2 on the NES. In between levels, you’ll have to explore Delta City’s police station and interact with other officers (including Lewis) to get hints about the next mission, as well as story exposition. It’s an interesting idea, but it needlessly slows the game down. Graphically, the game looks bad, even for a Game Boy Color title. The sprites and levels lack any real detail, and feature little in the way of animation. Also, given your size on the screen, it’s also quite easy to get hit by enemy fire, since you can barely see anything. The music is monotonous, with the rendition of the classic RoboCop theme butchered to be plodding instead of a march. You’re much better off with Ocean’s original RoboCop title.
RoboCop – PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, Gamecube (2003)
It only got worse for RoboCop, and ultimately Titus themselves, with this release. Featuring an original plot, RoboCop sees Detroit faced with a drug crisis known as Brain Drain, which is being controlled by the crime lord known as William Nexx. On top of that, Detroit’s mayoral race is ramping up and turning nasty, thanks to an OCP-backed candidate. OCP itself is hanging around in the background. It’s up to RoboCop to investigate and untangle this mystery.
Originally in development since 2000, the game saw several delays until it was released in North America for the Xbox in 2003, while the PS2 version was only released in the UK. Regardless, RoboCop is plagued with issues. Other than RoboCop, characters look simplistic, and the environments lack detail even for the time. Effects like explosions are pithy, with Robo’s grenades having the effect of a water balloon filled with urine (seriously, that’s what they look like). Robo’s movement feels very clunky, which is appropriate, but it’s offset by stiff and bare-bones animations (there’s little to no recoil for RoboCop firing his Auto-9, for example). The sound design is laughable. Robo’s Auto-9 sounds nothing like it did in the film (or like any handgun, really). But the most egregious is Robo himself, who spits out quips for things like when he picks up ammo, accidentally kills a civilian (“Sor-ry!”), or whenever he achieves a kill streak. Bottom line, RoboCop is no Duke Nukem.
Gameplay is likewise a frustrating mess. The enemy AI is a joke, with it popping out from a scripted cover location, but more often just running around and right into RoboCop’s gunfire. Enemies will sometimes take multiple shots from RoboCop, only to surrender (??) to be arrested and fade into nothing. About the only thing that will damage Robocop severely are the previously-mentioned explosions, which will sap your armour and life away with no range variation. Oh, and there are no checkpoints.
I could go on, but there’s a reason why Titus declared bankruptcy not long after this game’s release. It’s a low-budget title that is a disservice to the license and first-person shooters, in general. Play it out of curiosity if you must, but there are so many better things you can do with your time.
RoboCop – Mobile (2004)
Developed by Digital Bridges Ltd., RoboCop on mobile is best likened to the original arcade game. Based on the original 1987 film, you must stop Clarence Boddicker and his gang. The objective in each level is to rescue a number of hostages, as well as arrest gang members at the end of the level. Of course, you can also execute them if you so choose, but you receive fewer points if you do. As mentioned before, the game bears similarity graphically and in gameplay to the arcade. Robo’s Auto-9 has unlimited ammo, but you can also pick up other weapons. Sprite detail is on par with the arcade version, though it’s noticeably choppy (given the platform). There’s also no music other than an okay rendition of the RoboCop theme that plays intermittently throughout the game. Sound effects are limited to shots from RoboCop (which sound like a snare drum), among others.
RoboCop – Mobile (2014)
A decade later, RoboCop returns to mobile phones, this time for the remake. A third-person, cover-based shooting game, instead of following the plot of the film, RoboCop fights against holographic enemies and robots in a training simulation. Armour and weapons can be upgraded along a tech tree, while attributes such as damage, accuracy, rate of fire and more can also be upgraded. RoboCop also earns experience for completing missions, which allows you to level up. While free to play, the microtransactions are particularly irritating, requiring you to dole out quite a bit for the more effective weapons in the game. Regardless, it’s quite technically impressive for the time as well as being easy to pick up and play. It’s ultimately forgettable, but at least you’ll have some fun until the game demands money from you.
Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath – PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch (2020)
Okay, it’s not technically a RoboCop game, but it does have RoboCop in it. More importantly, you can take on the T-800 in a rematch (which NetherRealm was quick to drop in a reference). Furthermore, Peter Weller returns to provide the voice for RoboCop, which is an added treat. Being a tie-in character, RoboCop doesn’t factor into the main MK11 story, though his goal is to apprehend Kano after it’s discovered that Kano has been dealing arms to Old Detroit’s gangs. In addition to the reference to RoboCop Versus The Terminator, NetherRealm crammed in several references to the films, even RoboCop using a TJ Lazer skin! RoboCop’s fatalities again feature several references to the films, with RoboCop putting his data spike to good use, as well as shooting his opponent in the groin in his other fatality. NetherRealm obviously took care to give fans the love they needed with RoboCop’s addition, which coupled with MK11 being an awesome fighting game, makes the Aftermath DLC a worthwhile addition.