Winner for best title must surely go to Escape From The Planet Of The Robot Monsters. What a cool name and, I'm sure you will agree, it is such an iconic arcade game from the era. The storyline goes something like this: evil reptilons are hellbent on destroying us and have also taken hold of Planet X and enslaved the human population, forcing them to build a massive robot army for an invasion. Jake and Duke are two mighty heroes to save us all with a simple plan: destroy as many robots as you can, trash all the computers, rescue the cute girls and save the day!
Robot Monsters is played in a similar style to other 3D isometric games, just imagine a pinch Buck Rogers mixed in with a dollop of Gauntlet and you get a general idea. Your main goal is to rescue the humans, without forgetting those held in stasis pods, and all this is going on whilst Planet X constantly produces enemy robots which love to hate you! These are relentless in their hatred for you and will soon be a hoard if you don't begin shooting. Along the way are various traps designed specifically for us soft fleshy humans, like sharp spikes, rotating chunks of metal and electric floor panels. Also, simple tasks are required, like flipping switches that activate escalators.
The robots come in a variety of models and I love the biscuit-looking kind, which is cute. We have a laser weapon which is cool but refrain from overuse otherwise it becomes less effective, thankfully, it can be charged using the green blobs which dead robots leave behind. There are also bombs - just hit the shift key and they detonate straight away killing anything within your vicinity, even the captives - so be careful. A canal stage appears after a few levels which offer extra bonuses but isn't essential to your overall progress. The big Reptilon boss will first seem an impossible opponent but there is a cunning way with to avoid it using a few bombs and a little joystick waggling....
Robot Monsters is full to the brim with originality and frantic metallic mayhem! It's a demented game and I love its comical personality, great characters, and frantic gameplay. An extraordinary game!
LINKS
- A download is available from the mighty D-Bug's which can also be installed to hard drive.
- But for those which require a floppy disk image just use Old Games Finder.
- Yes, I recorded an awesome video for your viewing pleasure!
- But for those which require a floppy disk image just use Old Games Finder.
- Yes, I recorded an awesome video for your viewing pleasure!
