Shoot Many Robots Review
Game: Shoot Many Robots
Developer: Demiurge Studios
Publisher: Ubisoft
Available on: Xbox LIVE Arcade and Sony Entertainment Network (Reviewed via Xbox LIVE Arcade)
I have racked my brain to try and think of the last time I played a game that had a title as apt as this one. Like Ronseal, Shoot Many Robots does exactly what it says on the tin. Imagine if Dynasty Warriors had been called “Kill Many Three-Kingdoms-Era Soldiers”, or Dark Souls had been given the moniker “Die Many Times”. It is that straight-up. You see, in this action packed side scrolling run ‘n’ gun frolic, you do indeed shoot many robots, and even though the genre has pretty much been done to death on the downloadable marketplace, this comical effort certainly has enough about it to warrant a closer look.
Demiurge Studios have previously worked on a number of big-hitting games, with their expertise centred mainly on porting existing console games to Windows, or providing their nous to add extra shiny bezels to other development team’s work. As such, their mark has been left on such luminary franchises as Mass Effect, Bioshock and Rock Band – as well as Borderlands, a game which is something of a kindred spirit to Shoot Many Robots, their first attempt at striking out on their own.
In Shoot Many Robots, you play the part of a beer-swilling, redneck douchebag by the name of P. Walter Tugnut, who exists in a post-robot apocalyptic wasteland, living in his weapons and lager-filled RV. Tugnut is on a revenge mission against the sentient robots that destroyed his truck and killed his cat, and the action follows his one-man assault against masses of creepy looking machinery.
Gameplay is very simple. You are equipped with two weapons as standard which can be switched in real time. In a similar fashion to Earth Defence Force – a title that this very much reminded me of – you go to war with one light and one heavy weapon. You can hold the left trigger to fix Tugnut to the spot and aim in your desired direction. You can jump and double jump, and if the correct item is equipped can perform other actions such as a robot-kicking baseball slide, a jumping, downward slam attack or even a handy hovering ability that comes once you unlock the jetpack item. You have access to a melee attack, which as well as being used to ward off robots who get too close for comfort, can be used to push back certain red projectiles. During gameplay the screen is often crammed with enemies and bullets and the key to success is using the enemy ordnance against them by well-timed use of the melee button.
The premise is overwhelmingly simple: You select a level, then kill all of the robots in it. Doing so gives you nuts – the in-game currency – and shooting lots of robots in rapid succession gives you a score multiplier that increases the number of nuts you receive. Some of the levels follow a standard left-to-right scrolling format, whilst other “survival” scenarios place you in a smaller, one or two screen arena which is then flooded with robots in increasingly more difficult waves. Along the way you can find crates which when busted open, unlock more weaponry and items for purchase via the in-game store. Tugnut has a health bar which when depleted can be restored by bashing the right bumper button which will cause him to pull out a beer and chug it down for a vitality boost. Some weapons have infinite ammo, but for those that do not, defeating certain robots will drop ammunition for you to collect.
Graphically the game is bright, bold and cel-shadingly beautiful, with some great animation and some cool touches, like when enemies explode and career towards you in a blistering throwback to Mode 7. There is never any slowdown, even when the screen resembles an outtake from Terminator: Salvation by way of Mad Max, and the post apocalyptic settings provide an excellent backdrop to the shooting fun. With some amusing guitar licks, puerile speech and satisfying robot explosions, the game sounds great too.
There are a number of different areas and you can select which level you want to play through, with stars awarded depending on how many nuts you collect in each stage. Like New Super Mario Bros coins, collecting stars allows you to unlock different paths and stages. You can of course play through stages as many times as you like, something which is essential in order to rack up nuts, which are easier to collect if you replay earlier stages once you have levelled your character’s weaponry to a higher level.
Customisation, and the humorous way it is implemented, is what makes Shoot Many Robots stand out from the crowd. There are absolutely tons of weapons to unlock, including powerful revolvers, sniper rifles, revolvers, grenade launchers and flamethrowers. There are some downright hilarious ones too, such as a missile launcher that fires “gnoming missiles” (and yes, it does fire the actual garden furniture favourites) and a cat box that drops explosive land mines. As well as guns you can also buy items for Tugnut’s head, torso and legs, with each item offering a different status effect in an RPG style. A gridiron helmet improves your defence and gives a tastier slam attack. A natty pair of strides with kneepads improves your slide ability. There are backpacks and tops that improve your healing ability or defence. All of the items come with a brilliantly funny description – and look out for references to other games – such as the helmet upgrade which mentions that “your little sister will love this”. The canny games-related jokes don’t end there either, just look at one of the earlier stages which is given the nom de plume “Metal Slag”; a sly wink and a nod towards another game which is cut from very similar cloth.
The lengthy, if repetitive single player campaign is backed up by a co-operative mode that allows up to four players, with each participant competing for the highest nut haul. It is great fun and extremely chaotic particularly given the number of robots that sometimes find themselves onscreen.
Shoot Many Robots is a fun title that offers a cracking RPG levelling system that certainly kept me in its thrall for much longer than it had any right to. Some of the more outlandish weapons and items are almost prohibitively expensive in nut-terms, meaning you will want to reply stages to earn enough of the blighters to cop that bonkers gun you just have to see. You can also purchase nuts using Microsoft points, however I don’t get down like that.
VERDICT: Shoot Many Robots has gameplay that is slick and smooth, with a great control scheme to boot. The main criticism is that it can become very repetitive, but the array of different ways to murder robots keeps things fresh and it is always fun returning to a previously cleared area with a new toy to play with.
This is a must have for fans of fare like Metal Slug, Contra and Earth Defence Force which shares the maniacal waves of enemies and interchangeable, often amusing arsenal of crazy weapons.
