RoboCop versus The Terminator

The Good
The Dark Horse comic book crossover was great and, when I first heard reports about the crossover miniseries being adapted into a 16-bit Genesis game I was excited, and a bit nervous.

A large library of video games exist based on comic book characters. Too many of them are poorly made, shovelwere that seems to be made by people that either don't like or understand comic books.

Luckily, the game was being developed by the creative folks at Virgin Interactive. In the early 1990s, this company released several great platforming games for the 16-bit Genesis and Sega CD. This one is certainly in that category of greatness for similar reasons.

"RoboCop versus The Terminator" features superb, 16-bit animation, graphics, sound effects and music. If video game companies have "golden eras", then this was certainly Virgin's Interactive's time of greatness.

The folks at Virgin Interactive really knew how to properly utilize the Sega Genesis/CD hardware. Likewise, when it came to action/adventure platforming, the folks at Virgin Interactive knew what worked and what didn't work.

Here RoboCop is responsive, easy to control and has access to some cool, uber-violent, firepower. I do not think I had so much fun controlling Robocop in a video game since playing the original coin-op arcade game based on the first film.

The graphic violence and overall darker tone, while appropriate for the source material, was certainly distinct from other Virgin games of that era; i.e. "Cool Spot", "Global Gladiators" and "Earthworm Jim".

In fact, much of the game's graphic violence, blood and gore was toned down in order to receive a MA-13, instead of a MA-17 Parental Advisory label. Although, the MA-17 edition of the game could be accessed with a secret code.

The Bad
The storyline in this game is, at best, loosely based on the Dark Horse comic book miniseries. While I was initially disappointed with the changes, I have to say that the storyline in the game was certainly sufficient.

This was one of those 16-bit video games that you played, largely because you got to control a bad-ass, heavily armed, RoboCop on his own urban 'postal' rampage against bad guys. In that sense, the storyline is not as important, but fans of the comic book series will notice the differences.

The game has a nasty habit of 'downgrading' your cool weapons when you lose your extra lives. True, this was often a reality in video games, but it does make the game very difficult, especially if you lose a powerful weapon later on in the game.

On some level, Virgin Interactive must have known that this might distract some from the replay value. Among the several, cool, Easter Eggs in this game is the ability to easily access all of the cool, bad-ass weapons.

Lastly, this is a platformer that looks, sounds and plays great. It is fun to play and never becomes too difficult. However, it is still a one-player, platformer, and does not radically break any new ground in that particular video game genre.

The Bottom Line
"RoboCop versus The Terminator" is one "bad-ass", uber-violent video game. If you have ever wanted to control the famous, 1980s cyborg cop as he wages a one-man war on crime, then this is the game for you.