7. ROBOZONE (32%, issue 14)

Earth in the future – like in all videogames, it seems – is bleak. In Robozone, the whole planet’s been polluted and taken over by the “scavengers”. The rich and lucky live on luxury boats in the cleaner parts of the ocean. But back on dry land, those who remain have survived by creating Wolverine. He sort of looks like ED-209 from Robocop, and he goes around cleaning up refuse and stopping others trashing what remains of the earth.

ROBOZONECF — [CLICK FOR FULL REVIEW] Imageworks/Mirrorsoft were part of the Maxwell empire. When he threw himself off a boat and died (give it a Google), there was a mad scramble to get the leftover games published. Robozone is a survivor.

He, as you might figure, is the sprite you control. Your job is to find and destroy the “scavengers”, robotic insects who are running around destroying the environment and killing people who get in their way. On level one, you’re deep in a city’s sewers. You go right, you go left, you go down a bit and shoot. Wolverine does look brilliant, but it’s otherwise standard stuff. It’s back to street level for part 2, but it’s pretty much the same – although you do need a map for some extra tasks. And on the final stage, you lose your robotic legs for a rear booster. Which, er, is basically R-Type.

There are a few basic puzzles to solve and end-of-level guardians to defeat. And the main sprite really is great. But the otherwise drab graphics, maddening collision detection and sheer monotony mean most players will switch off long before the final level’s welcome change of pace. CF

CF SAID: “The skeleton of an above-average shoot ’em up has been buried beneath a mountainous pile of unplayable debris.”

WE SAY: It’s difficult to get past the beige, SEUCK style graphics. And if you do, you’ll get bored pretty quickly.