Arcade classic: Robotron 2084

While playing The Binding of Isaac in a friends recently, the topic quickly jumped to classic dual stick shooters, and how seldom we see them as a mainstream release these days. The concept is simple enough; the player uses one 'stick' to push the character around the screen, in whatever direction you chose, while the other stick is used to control the direction of your shooting. Sounds straight forward, but it required a surprising level of dexterity to control both sticks and stay alive. So let's take a stroll back to 1982, when Williams was still one of the reigning champions of arcade action and have a look at the classic Robotron 2084.

 Fitting in perfectly with pulp sci-fi culture from the era, Robotron sees you defending the last remaining humans from the murderous robots we've created and allowed to take control of our world. All the action takes place on one screen (no scrolling, here) and each wave consists of huge amounts of enemies, all trying to kill you and the other humans. You'll have a tough time saving the others, but it's not necessary to do so to proceed; being the hero is merely an option if you want to obtain a high score, as you get points for each one rescued. No, the main goal is to kill the robotic bastards before they get to you first. Once you've killed them all, you'll jump to the next screen and face down another wave of aggressive metal monsters. The game apparently contains 255 waves, before resetting back to the first screen.

While it might not be much to look at, graphics wise, the developers (Vid Kidz, with lead designer being Eugene Jarvis, the man responsible for other classics such as Defender and Smash TV) wisely chose to put more focus into frenetic game play and waves of enemies instead of trying to 'pretty up' the game. It's not all just straight up shooting, either. There is definitely some sinister 'AI' going on in here. Some of the enemies are indestructible, so shooting them is pointless, but they specifically target the other humans, so when you hear the death sound, you know one of the good guys got trampled. Same goes for one of the other enemies you'll meet a few stages in; they take over the brains of the humans and send them after you, leaving you no choice but to blast them. The horror!

All of this results in an incredibly fast game that is still great to play. You can gain extra lives as you progress; you'll need em too. My own highest score is a couple hundred thousand; I won't embarrass myself too much with an actual figure. The game was a huge success at the time, and resulted in it being ported to most home computers and consoles at the time, notably the Atari, Commodore and Spectrum. It was also remade for the N64 and updated with 3D graphics, but I've never played that version, and can't imagine it being as fun as the original. The version I play is on the Playstation 2, on the Midway Arcade Classics disc. With vibrant colours and the classic Williams sound effects, this one is well worth digging out on whatever medium you can get it on.

Playing Robotron 2084 in the Attic is always an option.