Robotron 64 [Model NUS-NRXE-USA]

Robotron 64 © 1998 Crave Entertainment.

Shoot. Shoot. And shoot some more. That's the gun-ho premise of Robotron 64, a 3-D update of arcade classic Robotron: 2084.

In the late 21st century, the droid race known as Robotrons has run amuck, liquidating humans for being inefficient meat machines. One lone family was left when genetically engineered superhuman Eugene entered the fray. Armed with his trusty laser gun and Horace Grant goggles, Eugene tries valiantly to scrap the marauding metal-heads before they can finish their human harvest.

Grunts, Quarks, Brains and all the other Robotrons you loved to cap in the arcades are back in action, although this time they have fully rendered bodies. The human family of Dad, Mom and Mikey is back, too, rambling around in circles, totally clueless to the evil surrounding them. If they're going to be saved, Eugene will have to do all the dirty work.

Powering down the Robotrons and touching humans earns Eugene points, which count toward extra lives. Once Eugene has withstood the early Robotron onslaughts, he'll have the opportunity to grab randomly appearing power-ups, including a flamethrower, extra lives and temporary invincibility.

Developer Player1 has spruced up the enemy's AI, although they still tend to dillydally until Eugene comes near, at which point they band together and stampede after the shaven-head guy. Sophisticated strategies like splitting up and surrounding Eugene are not in the Robotrons' bag of silicon tricks.

Robotron 2084 featured two joysticks: one to move Eugene and one to shoot. If you plug in an extra controller, you can do the same with Robotron 64. Robotron 64 also supports a two-player alternating mode but no cooperative or deathmatch mode.

Texture-mapping on the characters is practically nonexistent, but the action is so fast you probably won't notice. The techno soundtrack sports 11 drum-machine tunes you could have heard in a disco back in '84. With 200 stages, three difficulty levels, 10 speed settings, two bosses and swarms of minibosses, Robotron 64 offers plenty of opportunity for mindless fun.