Robokill 2: Leviathan Five - Top-town, Shoot-em-up action on the surface of mars
It’s all in the Title
It has to be said that I am somewhat of a developer’s dream in that it takes little more than a moderately intriguing title to pull me in and whack my brain up a notch from feeling unbridled ‘indifference’ to being ‘somewhat roused. My brain almost exploded when laying eyes on the title ‘Robot Unicorn Attack: Heavy Metal’ the other day: each of the words in that title promise at least an interesting gameplay experience, and when taken as a whole, guarantee to at least partially melt your face with ridiculous levels of sheer awesomeness. While the title Robokill 2: Leviathan Five didn’t exactly slap me in the cheek with its words, it still contained part of the word ‘robot’, and the word ‘kill’ in its entirety, and being a man and also geek of fairly heroic proportions, it had me at the word ‘Robokill’. I was expecting a moderately drab affair, but instead was greeted with a solid game of mechanised shoot-em-up style and smooth aesthetic. Read on at your leisure for further detail.
“Terminator 2” was Taken
Ok, so what first struck me was the fact that this game isn’t the full version, which must be purchased for just fewer than ten dollars. This is by no means a debilitating factor since the free sections of the game are four in number, with each of these sections being lengthy enough for a browser-based flash game anyway, I just thought it best to clear this up at the start. The storyline is quickly explained with a brief opening cut-scene which can be boiled down to you crash landing at a colony on mars; no need for more than this, the game just wants to smash you in the face with action instead
Robokill 2 immediately shows itself to be a pretty solid shoot-em-up with a top-down view and the usual ‘WASD’ or directional-arrow movement controls. The mouse controls the aim of your robot and left-clicking allows you to shoot. Everything from the inventory to the weapons/items shop can be accessed in which you are able to purchase upgrades such as new guns, items, and medipacks to tend to your wounds if your shields happen to take a pounding. As you explore the levels, you will find crates that you can shoot in order to squeeze the occasional power-up from them, and you will regularly pick up wads of cash that are inexplicably laying around on what is essentially an unknown colony on the surface of mars. Explanations aren’t necessary, since in all action games it is a fact that we should simply accept the fact that enemies are going to drop items that they have no worldly business possessing.
I’m in it for the Guns
Let’s be honest, a large percentage of the people playing out there are only 10% interested in the strategy of manoeuvring and shooting, with the remaining 90% coming in the form of massive enthusiasm for the potential weapon upgrades that are available. I’ll be frank: the weapon upgrades are usually my main concern when playing any game involving shooting, and luckily, Robokill 2 has plenty of firepower to keep you (and more importantly, me) satisfied. You begin with standard repeat-fire blasters and have the option to swap and switch your arsenal the moment you can afford to, with different weapons possessing different rates and spread of fire, making some more suitable for multiple enemies at close range while. Inventory items can also be carried along with the guns, with weapons such as short-range pulse grenades disabling enemies in the immediate vicinity.
All Too Familiar?
Aside from a few aesthetic differences, the title, and the fact that enemies are now living creatures native to mars as opposed to robotic, Robokill 2 doesn’t really offer anything revolutionary to prove that it has moved on from its predecessor. Couple this with the fairly frustrating respawn system, which in spite of meaning that the penalty for death is simply being set back a few zones with a little less money, can mean that you end up having to clear out entire areas repeatedly. There is a definite element of strategy behind the way you manoeuvre around the enemies as well as your weapon selection depending on the situation, but when it comes down to it, the game is simply a cycle of entering and clearing a room of the enemies’ presence. It’s a solid title, but not enough to make me want to see it through to its conclusion.
65/100