Saving the human race

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In Robotron: 2084, your task is to kill all sorts of nasties and save your fellow humans from the robots.

These robots attack in waves, and on the first, there are fifteen. You soon realise they are programmed to kill, and will simply come straight for you! Fortunately, you have a powerful weapon system - a rapid fire laser gun - and the first few screens are little problem. After the eighth, you can get into real trouble, however. There are so many different types of nasty coming at you, such as the red discs which take great delight in distributing what look like little bullet-throwing gravestones, and the brains which... well, see for yourself on level five.

Once you have exterminated everything that is killable on a level, you proceed to the next. If, in all the chaos, you manage to rescue some humanoids, there are large bonuses available which go a long way to a good score. Bonus lives are awarded every 20,000 points - you'll need them!

The graphic quality of Robotron is very good. There are many different aliens, and my greatest praise is for the sheer speed of operation, especially when you consider how much is going on at once. Almost everything moves, and the action is smooth. Sound is fairly good, too; there is a wide variety of noises and they are well implemented.

As usual in Atari's games, there are many options available to the player. You can choose a one- or two-layer game and the sound can be switched off. It's also possible to start on any of the first nine levels, and to freeze the game. You can control Robotron by keyboard or one or two joysticks; the keyboard option is a little hard to get to grips with, as there are eight keys used - the two-joystick option may be easier for some.

Altogether, a fast-action game, very difficult in later stages, with good graphics and sound, and which gives you a real feeling of achievement when you master the controls! A worthy addiction to any shelf.

Stuart Menges