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"ACCLAIM NATION, INDEED!"

I knew I was in for it when I loaded "Robotica" (released as "Daedalus" in Japan, where it was developed by Micronet) and the FMV intro had its audio terribly mixed, with the narration and the music/sound effects drowning each other out. Things don't really improve much after that. And although I was able to muster a small (the bare minimum!) amount of fun out of my brief experience with this futuristic "Doom"-clone set in the distant century, I can't recommend you rush out of the house and stop watching some cool TV show or listening to some great music CD in order to buy a copy of this bargain game. But, if you're like me and keep busting your hard-to-replace Saturn boxes by dropping and falling all over them (read my review of "Wing Arms" for reference), "Robotica" can provide you with a cheap box and a CD to serve your friends cool beverages. Who wants the Samuel Adams?

The backstory is your cliche' sci-fi disaster: the Daedalus space station was built during a time of crisis on Earth, so it could handle some tough duties while an ongoing conflict threatened the very existence of humanity (yawn!). Centuries later, with nations peacefully forgetting the very existence of the previous generation's conflicts, Daedalus emerges as the closest thing to a God people on Earth have ever known, and they seek its wisdom and protect it from a gang of guerrila-like rebels. These rebels are trying to destroy the deranged space station in order to give people an Earth a swift kick in the nuts and force them to be a little more self-reliant. So into Daedalus you go, aboard a mechanical robot that protects from enemy firepower and keeps you grounded to the floor (there is no gravity in space, you know!) exploring a bunch of randomly-designed levels that, besides a change of color tone, look exactly the same. If you're still awake after reading all that sci-fi mumbo jumbo, then here is what distinguishes "Robotica" in three key aspects:

GRAPHICS / VISUALS: C
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Released in mid-1995 in both Japan and the US, "Robotica" harkens back to the bygone era when developers, trying to cash on the "Doom" craze of the era ("Rise of the Triads" anyone?), could literally afford to make crappy games with poorly-designed levels and almost no fun factor whatsoever, and then release them nicely wrapped in a shiny new box. If the graphics look like cookie-cutter mech designs combined with a first-person view, that's becasue this was an experimental game released with the notoriously hard-to-program Saturn hardware in its infancy. As a result, the graphics look like s*@# compared to the new kings of the hill ("Turok: Dinosaur Hunter", "Quake", "Goldeneye 007", etc.).

The draw-in as you move through the station's tunnels recalls "G-Police", but without glossy structures and surroundings it is way more noticeable. Aside from a different structure for every level, they all look exactly the same: same door, same bars, same corners, same enemie bots, etc. Only a change of color every four or five levels (from green, to light-blue, to brown, etc.) distinguishes the textures. Add to that the same generic mechanical enemies that DO NOT MOVE AWAY OR TOWARD YOU AT ALL, lack of fancy lighting effects and fireworks (not since "Bladeforce" on 3DO have I seen such underwhelming firepower on a shooter), and a frame-rate that hovers between 15-20 frames per-second. Voala! Instant first-generation poster boy for the videogame history books, along with Genki's other weak robotic "Doom" clone "Kileak: The DNA Imperative" (the "Robotica" for the PSX).

MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: C+ ---------------------

Besides the badly mixed FMV opening, "Robotica" harkens back to the era when audio tunes on a cart would be looped over and over again in order to save space ("Shadows of the Empire" anyone? Shudder!). The same fifty-second tune repeats itself over and over again for about four/five levels, and then another tune loops itself eternally for another four/five levels (and so on and so forth). The futuristic sound effects set a properly non-human feel for the place, with plenty of "clank" and "thud" crashes all over the place, but the lack of heavy breathing or voices (ala "Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels") diminishes the achievement of the sound effects. Overall, the audio barely gets a passing grade for the use of lots of metal-like clashes and "Star Wars"-like laser shots.

GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B-
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Here is where "Robotica" surprised me. When you take every element of the game into account (and I do mean EVERYTHING) the atmosphere and feel of isolation from any sort of human element gripped me really intensely and made me play the game for hours at a time! Wow, this from a lousy first-gen Saturn title that most of you can still find at rental stores that carry Saturn games. "Kileak" on PSX had many of the same elements that characterize Acclaim's shooter, except it had fewer enemies and an even more sedate and sleepy pace than "Robotica", which distinguishes the very subtle way everything comes together in Micronet's shooter. You may not like it at all, but not since "Tetrisphere" on N64 have I experienced so much isolation from any sort of human element in a videogame than with "Robotica". Is that suppossed to be good???!!! Hey, I wouldn't know because I'm, after all, The Ladies Man! (that Tim Meadows is freaking hilarious).

But just because it is atmospheric as hell does not mean it isn't flawed, really really flawed. There is no way to save your position after completing a level or finishing a whole area (every four/five levels); no password, no saving of high scores or best times, NOTHING! (I guess those Saturn freaks without a Memory card and a filled-to-capacity internal memory will be glad). This means that, just like "Wing Arms" and "Starfox 64", this is a game that has to be played till the very end on one sitting, and that is one tough proposition when you consider the redundancy of facing the same six or seven bots over and over again, through about 24 levels that, besides a new coat of pain, look exactly the same. The prospect of playing "Robotica" from beginning to end alone is making me sleepy already, the pace is that tedious. Also suspect is the questionable decision of increasing the damage that the enemy fire does to you, make that enemy fire faster and diminishing the amount of health-recovering items scattered throughout the levels as the only way to up the challenge of replaying the game. What a freaking cop-out! The enemies remain stationary, the randomly-designed levels barely challenge the brain, the puzzles are dumber than Clinton's taste on women (ahem!) and the game as whole suffers because of these shortcomings that could have been corrected with smarter AI for the bots and more thought put into the design of the levels. But then again, the atmosphere and interface with the surrounding environment made the game a more enjoyable experience than expected.

OVERALL: C+
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Incidentally, Genki went on to perfect what they started on "Kileak: the DNA Imperative" with two sequels ("Epidemic" and "Brahma Force" for the PSX); had Micronet decided to do sequels to "robotica", the skeleton of what we saw in their first-generation maiden voyage could have evolved into something more passable than a weekend rental. But, as long as dumb Saturn freaks like myself keep busting and breaking their Saturn boxes ("Duke Nukem 3D", "Mass Destruction", "Street Fighter Collection", etc.) there will be some of us scooping cheap games for the box that houses the content, rather than the latter.

NeXT!!!