Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters

B-movie gaming

Oh no, evil Reptilons are hell-bent on destroying us humans and have taken hold of Planet X. They've enslaved much of the population and forced them to build a robot army for an invasion. Jake and Duke are two heroes with a simple plan: destroy as many robots as possible, trash the computers, rescue every cute girl, and save the day.

Robot Monsters is played in a fashion similar to other 3D isometric games; imagine a pinch Buck Rogers with a dollop of Gauntlet and you get the idea. The goal is to rescue the humans, without forgetting those held in stasis pods! Along the way are traps designed for us soft fleshy humans: sharp spikes, rotating chunks of metal, and electric floor panels.

All this is going on whilst Planet X constantly spawns enemy robots. Yes, the alien hoard is relentless so you better be quick on the trigger otherwise you will be overrun. It's insane, but it works. It's like you're living a B-Movie yourself!

Let's check out some screenshots I've taken from the intro...

Grab a raygun and fight back!

We have a powerful weapon that is a great tool for quick kills. But, refrain from overuse otherwise, it is less effective... Thankfully, it can be charged by collecting the green blobs that a dead robot might leave behind. There are also bombs - hit the shift key and they detonate killing anything within your vicinity. Even the captives so, be careful.

There are bonus stages along a canal route that appear after a few levels with extra bonuses. Not essential to your overall progress and I wasn't too eager about them. The big Reptilon boss will first seem an impossible opponent but there is a cunning way to avoid it by using a few bombs and a little joystick waggling!! Just ask me if you need any help.

I know, I know, you wanna see some more screenshots from the intro. Well, you're in luck...

Next-Gen aesthetics!

Well, yes and no. Back in the day, I remember being blown away by the comical artwork, which still looks great. In-game, I adore the isometric 3D viewpoint which I think is perfect, and the entire environment has superb attention to detail. The alien hoard is varied and excellent - my favourite being the biscuit-looking guys lol. They're not biscuits of course, but I think they're cute! And that's this game to a tea, it's different and loves to be different. It works perfectly.

The audio is a blast with cool, zappy effects and gorgeous chip music. Click the arrow and listen for yourself...

AtariCrypt · Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

Don't run away. Come back, there are girls to be rescued and robots to destroy!

The CryptO'pinion?

You know folks, I have really enjoyed playing this great game again after all these years. This is one of those shooters that is stuffed to the brim with originality and frantic metallic mayhem. Running around shooting everything is totally demented and all done with a comical personality using great characters. This is a superb isometric shooter.

It's just as much fun to play today as it was back in 1990. An iconic 16-bit shooter and I love it to bits!!

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