Licensed games are a strange genre. Often they are relatively poor and fail to capture the essence of the original. The opposite is true for RoboCop: Rogue City. MyMMO author Nikolas Hernes finds the game really good and enjoys fighting as a living tank.
What is RoboCop: Rogue City?
- You play as the titular hero from the original trilogy
- The story takes place between parts 2 and 3 and tells of a new villain that RoboCop must deal with
- As RoboCop, you blast your way through hordes of enemies or do simple police work in small side missions
- The chapters are divided into open levels
- It is inspired by 80s and 90s action through the license
RoboCop: Rogue City is a first-person shooter that doesn’t adhere to many modern conventions of fast shooters. But that’s exactly what makes Rogue City so fantastic and a good licensed game.
Slow and cumbersome, but the perfect RoboCop
While many shooters today demand quick movement or good cover options, providing many movement options, RoboCop: Rogue City is quite different.
You are comparatively slow and cumbersome, just like a robot. Yet this is the perfect RoboCop fantasy. When you enter a room, multiple enemies immediately start shooting at you. But you are RoboCop. When aiming, your visor classically scouts the enemies and you decide who to attack first. You need to pay attention to your health, but with a healing option, you can charge in like a living tank without hiding.
The shooting is explosive. You can break through walls with your gun and mow down enemies with weapons. Everything screams popcorn blockbuster.
Various upgrade features make you even stronger in the form of armor, new targeting options, or simply more health. Your iconic pistol can also be upgraded with circuits, allowing you to never have to reload or deal more damage.
In no other game have I felt so close to 80s action movies as in Rogue City. You play the one-man army that doesn’t shy away from bullets and defeats the clumsy evil.
Detroit as a Violent Dystopia
The first RoboCop movie was, despite its action genre, a satirical take on an increasingly violent society. This is why the movie still works today. And in Rogue City, Detroit is portrayed as a dystopia controlled in the background by the OCP corporation.
The aesthetics of the technology and environments are refreshingly nostalgic. CRT monitors and clunky technology full of hexagonal shapes showcase a vision of the future that is rarely explored today.
Both themes are well developed in the story of Rogue City and work quite well through short cutscenes. Although it lacks the satirical edge that the film achieves, this is replaced by existential questions that revolve around RoboCop and his role as a human.
In the skill tree, you can unlock exploration and dialogue skills instead of combat skills, opening new possibilities in the world. Despite the hidden themes, Rogue City, just like the movie, is funny in many places. You can issue parking tickets or listen to drug dealers in side quests as they discuss free markets.
I can only recommend doing the side quest as entertaining moments are hidden there that stick in your mind.
The 80s and 90s had a different kind of action, and RoboCop: Rogue City transports me right into those films. I love the slow action and the clumsy jokes and stories. The game shows that we don’t just need AAA and indie. We also need double-A productions that aren’t so polished and clean, because that’s how we get brands like RoboCop as a game.
For those who aren’t the biggest fans of fast action but still want to shoot in a shooter, I can only recommend RoboCop: Rogue City. Quirky action awaits you in Anger Foot.
