RoboCop: Rogue City Review

situation is under control you now have 15 seconds to comply stand back I'll do one better cop I'm out of here pver hov's RoboCop is one of the quintessential action movies of the 1980s it pushed the envelope with over-the-top violence killer onliners and fantastic special effects mixed with a biting anti-corporate social commentary under the surface that resonated with audiences there have been multiple attempts to resurrect the series over the years including an ill-fated reboot in 2014 but nothing has captured the ephemeral it that struck a cord when the series debuted that's what's most impressive about RoboCop Rogue City it's not just a solid first-person shooter set in the RoboCop Universe developer ton absolutely Nails the look and feel of its film inspiration in ways that nothing else has to date it's a good game and the most authentic adaptation the series has ever seen the story itself is nothing groundbreaking a bad guy who looks like he's faded to be thrown off the top of nakatomi Plaza and die hard is up to no good and you need to stop him ocp is still an evil Corporation and drug fueled gangs rule the streets if you've ever seen an old school action movie set in a city you'll pretty much know what to expect RoboCop himself is also treading familiar ground with what remains of Officer Alex Murphy still struggling with figuring out the line between man and machine within himself this time with the help of a therapist ocp cut me off from my family and how do you view their decision to separate you from them that's the most compelling thematic thread and it felt like it could have been interesting to explore unfortunately it exists exclusively in dialogue options and cutcenes with no ramifications in gameplay that's too bad as it relegates us to being an observer in his introspective crises rather than sharing in it it also makes some degree of sense in that Rogue city is primarily a first-person shooter about blowing through hordes of criminal scum but it's also smart about focusing on what makes the titular character unique Robo as his friends call him is a walking tank the the slow plotting bounce of his gate with a heavy thunk accompanying each footfall makes him feel like a juggernaut the street gangs bikers and mercenaries that make up the bulk of the enemy fod aren't anywhere close to as powerful as he is and it's so much fun walking right up to these evildoers shrugging off their Small Arms fire and shredding them to literal pieces with the of robo's iconic auto9 machine pistol it is exceptionally violent as it should be there are often a lot of enemies on screen at once and turning them into a shower of crimson is a frequent and entertaining occurrence but it's true to the R-rated Source material and here it is ratcheted up to a degree that is humorous and over the top rather than gratuitous and excessive there's a decent variety of enemies including some that can actually make more than a dent and Robo like snipers heavy troops and Ed 209 here and those present opportunities to get more strategic with your approach than simply busting in and busting heads you can pick up and use guns dropped by enemies like shot guns and assault rifles though their ammo is limited while the auto 9es is not you can also grab and throw a lot of things like explosive barrels motorcycles and unlucky henchmen which is as hilarious as it is effective the wonderfully destructible environment plays a key role in the combat design too sometimes it's purely aesthetic other times it's strategic as you blast apart the cover your foes are trying to hide behind the most exciting is the breach opportunities pre-designated spots where Robo smashes through doors or compromised walls and takes the Bad Guys by surprise offering you a few seconds of slow motion to take out enemies before they can return fire or shoot their hostages what a warm welcome don't you think this translation of a nearly 40-year-old action movie into a game is so detailed and strictly loyal to the films that it almost resembl something fan-made there's very little artistic license taken favoring nearly one toone translations from The Source material across the board Robocop looks and sounds like his original self complete with Peter Weller's piercing gaze under his helmet and voice reprising his best known rooll now that you see me the way I am do you wish to push the reset button officer Anne Lewis is there as RoboCop's partner and Confidant and looks exactly like actress Nancy Allen portrayed her whether it's the Detroit West Precinct office the ocp corporate office or the Mean Streets of dystopia in Detroit Rogue City Nails the look and feel of the movies to an impressive degree the entire 80s of the presentation is brilliant the heavy use of synth and the soundrack fits it to a tea the dark grimy streets and Mohawk sporting gangs that were Central fictional goons throughout the decade are present in full force there are CRT monitors in all the cubicles a green wireframe HUD and police cruisers that look an awful lot like the old four Tauruses that were used in the movies small touches like the visible scan lines when you zoom in and aim down your weapon sits is exactly the right Vibe similarly there's no modernization of the original satirical critique of police brutality and arguably none is needed the appeal to Nostalgia is strong and that can have a significant impact on how much mileage you get out of this as a pure shooter Rogue City isn't overly ambitious but it's a lot of fun to play even if if you don't know anything about the series however if you grew up with RoboCop or recently watch the films then it's chalk full of references and nods that add a lot to the experience like this Infamous 6000 sux shots like this are a silly bit of over-the-top violence on the surface but it's so much more entertaining if you know this is pulled directly from the film at the same time this isn't the most technically impressive game when held up next to flashy big budget Adventures that were regularly treated to these days textures are kind of flat and lighting effects are minimalistic plus a lot of the gang members voices are extremely similar to one another but there's something bovie quality about it that makes it all forgivable if not a bit Charming still another coat of Polish would have gone a long way especially in cutscenes where all those issues are more apparent in close-ups audio and video desyncs Frozen faces and a pair of total game crashes on two occasions all cropped up during the review playthrough too and is it necessary to have him restrained that's for your safety none of that got in the way of action much though levels alternate between very linear point A to point B stages in which you charge through enemies looking for the mysterious new guy in town who's taken over the nuke business in the aftermath of RoboCop 2 and self-contained sandbox areas that put the cop in Robocop as you walk around the Mean Streets of Detroit you'll come across side missions focused on robo's Prime directives of serve the public trust protect the innocent and uphold the law some are simple such as having you issue fines for small infractions it sounds kind of silly but it's a fun bit of role playing slapping a ticket on this truck or Manning a Podium at the police station and listening to a Litany of Citizen complaints and dealing with all these weirdos I'm the guy from that poster so here I am now give me the money I will have to detain you fine but I still get the reward right other side missions are more expansive and are the sort of contained side stories that feel worth playing on their own merits one subplot spanning multiple quests has you helping to reform a drug addict turned informant seemingly mundane things like helping him return a watch he stole or pick out a VHS tape from a video store are poignant pallet cleansers from the brutal action sequences though there are certainly a few good shootouts along the way completing all the side quests and main story took just over 17 hours which is a pretty solid run time for a single player only campaign a simple leveling system does a good job of offering a basic sense of progression as you go feeding skill points into things like increasing damage resistance or extending the slow motion time frames as well as some non-combat skills that open up new dialogue options or allow you to open safes every few upgrades spent on a particular skill at a perk like a rapid Dash maneuver or armor that reflects Small Arms fire back at enemies finding bits of evidence scattered around reading notes and completing bonus objectives are good sources of XP giving a nice incentive to go off the beaten path in the open areas RoboCop Rogue city is a Pitch Perfect throwback to the action movies of the 80s it's over-the-top violence with charm largely well put together but Rough Around the Edges most importantly it's a fun way to spend time in a beloved fictional universe that doesn't overstay its welcome blasting at goons as an Unstoppable walking killing machine remains as extremely entertaining as it seemed on the big screen thanks in part to an impressive commitment to capturing the look and feel of the original film mixing in elements like routine police work and side quests does a great job changing the pace too even if it's not the best example of visual Fidelity and prone to some bugs along the way that love of Robocop shines through this is a solid be movie of a video game which is exactly what the source material [Music] demands for more check out our reviews of Allen wake 2 and Hellboy a web of word and for everything else stick with IG

Channel: IGN

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Keywords: First-Person, Nacon, PC, PlayStation 5, RoboCop, RoboCop: Rogue City, Shooter, Teyon, Unreal Engine 5, Xbox Series X|S, robocop: rogue city review, robocop: rogue city reaction, robocop: rogue city impressions, robocop rogue city, robocop, robocop rogue city gameplay, robocop game, robocop: rogue city, robocop rogue city review, robocop rogue city reaction, robocop 2023, robocop gameplay, new robocop game

Id: ZTbAyen-2w4

Length: 8min 40sec (520 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 01 2023