Rise of the Robots

Infobox VG
title = Rise of the Robots


developer = Mirage
publisher = Time Warner Interactive
designer = Andy Clark, Richard Joseph, Kwan Lee, Sean Naden, Jason Page
engine =
released = 1994
genre = Fighting game
modes = Single player, Two player
ratings = ELSPA: 3+
ESRB: K-A (SNES, Genesis, 3DO, Sega CD)
platforms = 3DO, Amiga (500/1200/4000), Amiga CD32, Arcade, CD-i, Game Boy, PC, Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, SNES,
media = CD-ROM, 3½ inch Floppy (Amiga version)
requirements =
input = Joystick, Keyboard

"Rise of the Robots" is a computer game developed by Mirage Media, released by Time Warner Interactive in 1994 and ported to numerous other game systems. Rise of the Robots is noted as one of the least successful and most critically maligned fighters of all time. Despite featuring incredible graphics for the time, it suffered from a myriad of crippling gameplay problems.

Plot details

The plot, heavily borrowed from such movies as "Blade Runner", "Metropolis" and "Terminator", centers on events in the Electrocorp factory in the fictional city of Metropolis 4, set in November 2043.

When demands placed on Electrocorp as the world’s leading manufacturer and developer of advanced robotics outstrip the company’s ability to run its massive Metropolis 4 plant efficiently, research & development devise a project to create the perfect multi-task, ultra-intelligent robot. A self-aware gynoid, dubbed The Supervisor, capable of managing every aspect of the plant’s day-to-day operations is born.

However events quickly escalate as the Leader Project goes awry and the Supervisor takes control of Electrocorp's facilities. Infected by a strain of the EGO virus, mutiny breaks out amongst the droids of the plant, effectively leaving the Supervisor in command of their actions. As a containment measure, operations at the factory are shut down under the guise of technical modification, and, the ECO35-2 cyborg is sent in to neutralize the insurgent robots and crush the imminent outbreak into Metropolis 4.

Characters

The Electrocorp’s plant at Metropolis 4 is alive with all manner of robotics, many of which were worker drones with simplistic CPUs until the Supervisor reprogrammed them with self-awareness and infected them with the EGO virus.

*ECO35-2: The protagonist of the story, the ECO35-2 named "Coton", is a fully functional bipedal cyborg that mirrors human form. The player takes control of this character to finish single player mode, with only his bare fists to face off against his enemies.
*Loader: A simple and durable worker droid, the Loader droid is the first enemy the player encounters. Before the riot at Electrocorp, Loader droids were employed in large quantities to lift and transport parts and equipment around the factory. Its primary weapons are two gigantic fork-arms.
*Builder: The gorilla-like Builder droid was developed as the natural successor of the Loader type. It is a more versatile robot designed to perform heavy assembly tasks. Although weak on its legs, the Builder droid is more than up to combat situations with its large powerful arms.
*Crusher: Simply put, the Crusher droid was designed as a robot killer, programmed to immobilize and destroy dangerously-malfunctioning production droids. It is noted for its green, insect-like appearance.
*Military: As its name suggests, the Military droid, also dubbed "Exterminator", is specifically designed for warfare purposes. In appearance it very much resembles a skeletal form of the ECO35-2 himself, albeit with the addition of razor-sharp metal claws.
*Sentry: Another combat-specific droid, the bright red Sentry stands an intimidating 3.5 meters tall and represents the next generation in security droids. Although large, it is made of lightweight metal and equipped with a jet pack for fast maneuvers.
*The Supervisor: The antagonist of the story, the Supervisor is a complete departure from conventional robotics, representing the dawn of a new era in metallurgy, artificial intelligence, and robotic engineering. The Supervisor was the first droid designed to replace humans in management rather than production positions, made self-aware, and given a neural learning CPU, giving it the ability to adapt and think on its own. The Supervisor relies on electrical flux physics and the liquid properties of polymetamorphic titanium alloy. By adjusting the flow of the electrical charge, this alloy can reshape and mold itself into any form. The robot and its characteristics bear a striking resemblance to the T-1000 character from "", played by Robert Patrick.

Game

The game is divided into a single player mode and a two player versus mode. In single player mode the player controls the ECO32-2 Cyborg as he confronts the Supervisor’s minions across the vast facilities of Electrocorp. The order in which each droid is fought is fixed, with each next adversary more difficult than the last. The sixth and final level is a confrontation with the Supervisor droid itself. Each character is introduced by a short CGI sequence, followed by an analysis of potential weaknesses.

In two player versus mode, one player controls the ECO35-2 droid by default, while the other chooses between one of the five droids seen in single player mode (a special cheat code can enable the Supervisor as well). Players then battle out against each other in 2 to 7 rounds.

Although the game boasted original soundtrack music by Brian May (former guitarist of Queen), only a short intro from "The Dark" appeared in the final release, while the actual in-game score was done by Mirage. While May did in fact record a full soundtrack to the game, his record company EMI requested numerous delays, which consequently prompted Mirage to proceed without the music rather than having to reschedule the release date.

FMV

Despite being on systems which were cartridge-based, "Rise of the Robots" had some full motion video which was very impressive considering the limited space of cartridges and floppy disks. The games had FMVs which would show the main character flying across the city. A scene showing the opponent walking in and a scene showing the opponent dying (although on the Sega Genesis, it had a screen shot showing the opponent robot dead with words appearing which read "(Robots name here)" destroyed. Proceed with caution."

Critical reception

While "Rise of the Robots" received many accolades for its state-of-the-art graphic design, it was almost universally panned by video game critics at the time of its release. Main points of criticism were the limited multi-player mode, awkward controls and problematic AI. In addition, each android had a very small set of standard actions and only two or three special moves, all controlled by a single button press.

The characters in the single player mode were positioned in mounting difficulty and this was kept in the multiplayer mode. This meant that the characters were improperly balanced in versus mode; some androids could inflict massive damage blows while others could inflict only minor damage. Because of this, Rise of the Robots was unable to contend with the more popular fighting titles of the time such as "Mortal Kombat" or "Street Fighter".

Journalist Stuart Campbell wrote an angry letter to the developers, purportedly asking why they would release such a game, and in his opinion, try to sell it via marketing alone.cite web | author = Stuart Campbell | url = http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/ap2/comments/Stuart_Campbell/ROTR_letter.html | title = Open letter about ROTR to Mirage and Time Warner | work = AP2]

Follow-up

Despite its failure to gain popular attraction, Mirage released "" in 1996 as a more conventional fighting game with extended features. The story expanded further upon that of the original game. Originally made for computer systems, it was ported to the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn as well, again with little success.

One notable aspect of "Rise 2" was that it featured an original song by Queen guitarist Brian May, entitled "Cyborg". The PC CD-ROM of the game featured two versions of the track in audio CD format along with other music from the game, and the European-released Director's Cut edition of the game featured a second CD with two additional versions of the song, as well as computer-altered sound files of May saying various words and phrases from the game. A newer version of "Cyborg" later appeared on May's 1998 album, "Another World".

References

External links

*moby game|id=/rise-of-the-robots - Overview of the game and description of all available ports.