PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
After unknown assistants attack the police station and steal some valuable tech, the ensuing investigation leads Robocop to OmniTower. This colossal structure, coincidentally lying outside of police jurisdiction, is reminiscent of the Peachtrees housing project in the excellent 2012 Dredd movie – a grimy lair full of hapless down and outs and criminal goons who will defend their turf by any means necessary. With assistance from an unknown voice on the other end of his radio, Robocop (again voiced by the original actor, Peter Weller) must make his way to the top of the tower and recover the stolen goods before the mercenaries’ plans come to fruition.
In this standalone expansion to 2023’s Rogue City (there’s no need to have played or even own the previous game to play this one), guns start blazing within seconds of Robocop’s arrival at the tower and you’re quickly introduced to your first handful of abilities. Your starting weapon, a simple pistol, immediately feels as good as it did in Rogue City, and additional firearms can be picked up from defeated enemies, all of which feel as devastatingly powerful as you want them to. Alternative weapons don’t hold too much ammo though, so you’re likely to rely on your unlimited pistol for the majority of the game. Bullets can be bounced off ricochet spots on walls to hit enemies in cover, explosive items can be blown up or thrown to cause damage, and Robocop is equipped with the ability to summon a shield for a short time, go into slow motion, and most entertainingly of all, grab enemies and smash them into specific objects in the environment, bringing to mind the excellent (and underappreciated) Punisher game from 2005.
The journey to the top of the tower isn’t a long one – about 8 hours – but it’s mostly an enjoyable one. The half a dozen or so main missions rarely involve anything more than mowing down hordes of mercs in as many gloriously gory ways as possible, although one or two missions might involve a bit too much clomping around and not enough shooting. It’s a very linear path with limited options for exploration, but there’s just about enough room for poking around corridors and side rooms to hunt for secondary objectives along with tokens to upgrade a handful of stats, unlocking further abilities and buffs as your ability levels increase.
A few graphical glitches and the odd bit of stuttering threaten to dampen the mood on occasion, and limiting the action to the confines of a largely grey interior removes some of the appeal of exploring the slightly more varied environments of Rogue City. The voice acting is as wooden as Robocop’s gait, and the lip syncing during cutscenes is questionable, but neither really matter too much – you wouldn’t watch a Robocop film for masterful performances, you’d watch it for the action, and the developers seem to understand this very clearly indeed. A fine expansion that fans of the main game will get plenty of old-school enjoyment from.
