Rise of the Robots

The Good
The graphics were excellent for their time, with digit\ed robots and stunning backdrops. Even on the A500 it looked better than many PC games of the day.

The Bad
At all but the hardest difficulty level, you could beat the opponents by using the same move repeatedly. In a two player game, the guy on the left won whenever he used that move.

In one-player mode you could only play as one of the robots, which is explained by the plot, but seems like an excuse not to write the playing routines properly.

Worst of all, you can't jump over your opponents, meaning that you spend the whole game facing in the same direction. In 1984 that would've been laughed at - in 1994 it beggared belief.

There was virtually no in-game sound to speak of, and the guitar music in the intro could've been played by anyone.

The Bottom Line
Style sells over substance every time, and this is a depressing example. It was hyped to excess, many magazines gave it great reviews, but everyone who played it saw through it within hours, if not minutes.

The Good
Ha! You've got to be kidding me, right? I mean, admittedly the graphics are quite good (something along the lines of Killer Instict, only a few years earlier), but it's just SPRITES, for *'s sake.

*The Bad
Arrrrrrgh! Where do I start? I mean, Rise of the Robots beats the likes of Sango Fighter, Super Fighter, Stick Fighter 2 (I'm not kidding) or even FX Fighter in the "worst game in the history of mankind" category. Dude, it's even worse than Arcade Volleyball, which actually had some kind of play value.

Well then. Shall we?

• The worst programming in a fighting game to date. Especially considering how early of a game it is, SVGA on a 486? I mean, sure, there's The 7th Guest, but DUDE, THIS GAME SUCKS!
• Oh, the all-so-beloved secret moves. Hmm. Perhaps it was just the demo version, with its magnificent two robots, that had so little interesting moves to keep you busy that you'd probably fall asleep before even a single round is over.
• Music? Sound? Get outta here.
• Story! Bwahahahaha! (did this game even have one?)

The Bottom Line
In Cartman's terms, "LLLLLLLLLAME!"

The Good
Well, you know, everyone knocked off this game. They all said it had no gameplay, which is true, but everything else was cool, and it would have been an excellent game if it had had rock solid gameplay. I still think if you still have a 10 year old SNES, you should check it out at some antique store.

The truth is, the graphics are amazing. Stop saying they weren't. It looked great. Sure, they were just sprites, but they were damn good sprites. It almost looked three-dimensional. In fact, it did look 3-d, it just wasnt. The robots were all made nicely, with divine stages to go with each.

The sound was great too. The music for all the stages were amazing! The sound effects were convincing too. The cutscenes were also great. They were really and something you wouldn't see in any other SNES title.

The Bad
Look, I admit the gameplay was bad. I know it sucks. But it wasn't as bad as everyone complained. I mean sure, the moves weren't humanly possible. Sure, one thing over and over could win the game. Sure, the robots seem to know what you are going to do before you even do it. Sure......maybe I should shut up. OKAY, I admit the gameplay sucked, but that was the only thing that sucked, if that is of any comfort.

The Bottom Line
Despite the bad gameplay, everything else was very good. Visuals, sound, little videos inbetween, it just wasnt made perfectly. It was hyped and almost lived up to its hype. That is why I give it a ** 3 out of 5 **