Xbox 360

Robotron: 2084

While many "classic" games haven't stood the test of time, Robotron is still going strong 2.5 decades later. The new additions are a nice bonus, but the real meat of the game is the single player mode in all its glory. Fast, fun, and brutally hard but fair, Robotron still has the gameplay magic to make you want one more round even after all these years.

There’s plenty of nostalgic, and newly added, fun to be had in Robotron: 2084. Both those who have played the original to death and those who have never blasted their way through the game will have tons of fun with the added multiplayer features. It would have been nice to see a new version of Robotron similar to the “evolved” version of Geometry Wars as opposed to the circa 1982 visuals that the game currently uses. Having all of the original sounds is a nice nostalgic nod to fans but it really would have helped give the game some more legs if it had included a newer version as well as the arcade classic. Because of that fact Geometry Wars still reigns supreme in the realm of chaotic shooters on Xbox Live Arcade.

For all the Robotron fans out there, this is a great pickup with the added online features. If you were obsessed with the original, you'll be just as obsessed with this one, though playing with controller sticks isn't quite the same as using the arcade joysticks.

If it's not the most frantic game ever created, Robotron: 2084 is definitely in the top five of all time. The 1982 arcade game was one of the many classic games from that era to bear the Williams Electronics name. That name now belongs to Midway, a company that has been resurfacing the gems hidden in its back catalog via various retrospective compilations for the past several years. Robotron is one of the games that have fared pretty well in these collections, but with the scoreboards and online competition that the Xbox 360 version of the game provides, this Xbox Live Arcade download is at least as good as the original arcade hit.

With the massive amount of turbulent shooters available over Xbox Live Arcade, it's hard to recommend one that wasn't built specifically for the Xbox 360. Even at the low end of the cost spectrum, Robotron: 2084 isn't a worthwhile investment due the lack of effort Midway put forth in terms of an upgrade. The online co-op mode does breathe some new life into the arcade classic, but the insane level of frustration resultant from the difficulty doesn't help. 360 owners would be better served in purchasing Geometry Wars or Crystal Quest if interested in a shooter.

At a meager $5, it's worth a download if the twitch action appeals to you. Smash TV is the alternative, and while closely related, it's a toss up which is more enjoyable. Both will relentlessly kill you until you fall to the challenge, but the never ending Robotron has the chance to keep things going for hours at a time.