Who wouldn’t want their own robot?! It would come in incredibly handy, although I'm sure we would all end up being unable to move due to the lack of exercise, I know I would. After all, we would have the robot do everything possible and we would just sit in a chair and watch the TV eating junk food. (Un)fortunately robots are way too expensive and limited in their scope, so I will still be tidying the house tonight and doing all those boring chores. At least an independent company has released a cool game based on Robots, so all is not lost!

In the game 'Mr Robot' we get to control a robot who is called Asimov (Most likely named after the guy who invented the 3 laws of robotics) and we help him with his missions as given out by HEL-9000, surely a homage to HAL of 2001 a space odyssey fame. This robot is activated after things have started to go wrong aboard the starship Eidolon. All the crew members are asleep in suspended animation to make the long trip through space to a planet called Prime, where they will use the ship as resources to start a new colony with robots helping to construct it.  It is our mission to find what is happening aboard the ship and put it right.

The game is split into two different game types; the main levels are displayed in an isometric 3D view and contain a variety of different puzzles that we will have to negotiate to get to the different sections of the ship. The second part of the game is set inside various robots and devices we encounter, as we have to hack into them to disable them or to open locked doors. This mix of game types helps break the monotony, as we aren’t forced to do the same thing over and over again all the time.

The 3D levels have various blocks (to move around and stack to get to high up doorways), platforms to jump across or switches to press which will activate and lower barriers, along with robots that are in our way which we need to get rid of.  There are also pools and rooms of liquid coolant which need negogiated.  Blocks will float in water so we can use them to your advantage and we may also need to control other robots to get rid of glass containers which only the heavier robots and metal balls can break.

In this game blocks can only be pushed not pulled so a certain amount of preemptive planning is required. Luckily the designers of the game have taken into account that mistakes will happen, so there is an option in game to reset the room which places everything as it was when we first entered.  Some other objects and devices are around to help, such as cranes and storage lockers which contain a variety of objects.

Every time our Robot touches another droid or liquid he will lose energy and if he loses too much he will explode, losing one of three lives.  The energy bar can be topped up by finding sparkling blobs of energy scattered around the ship. To be avoided are spikes, crushers or flames and other obstacles which will make us lose a life instantly which will throw you back to the start of the level. If you play the game on hard you only get one life however so it makes things more difficult. There are save points scattered usually every few rooms so that progress can be saved and should we die after saving, the game will “restart” at the latest save point.

One thing that will take getting used to is that Asimov won’t stop instantly when we let go of the controls due to inertia so it can take some practice to master the controls.  The mouse, keyboard or a joypad can be used and it can all be customized, so there should be enough flexibility to suit everyone.

To hack a robot we need access to the head, usually by jumping on top of it from a platform above.  We don’t have to attack every robot and they can be avoided instead, but in doing so experience and items are lost.

The hacking sections play like a RPG (such as Final Fantasy) with monsters to battle. The ghost (our digital personality) can get level ups and find upgradeable items.  We can also recruit other robots to help us which makes battles easier and we have various weapons to attack with, such as viruses and worms (the equivalent of swords and wands). We can use items while hacking to regain energy and power (life and magic in a normal RPG). During hacking, depending on what sort of robot(s) we are controlling, there is access to programs (basically the computer version of spells) to use on the enemies. These programs can be offensive or defensive – and can be used to heal the ghosts and reboot them if their life points hit zero.  The spells once activated display some very nice electrical / plasma effects, easily depicting the kind of damage being dealt.

After fighting for a while we can use special moves which render a one shot spell, usually inflicting substantial damage. There is also the option to run away if health is low. The hacking stages are set on big circuit boards where we have to disable various components by fighting the guardians inside that try to stop us.  Once we find the main enemy on the circuit the system is bypassed and we can continue with the rest of the game.

As the game progresses the 3D puzzles get more difficult and the hacking more complicated as the circuit boards get bigger and there are more powerful guardians protecting them.  The more robots that are hacked, the higher the experience and the better the items we find.  Later on in the game we can cast trading energy we have collected for items which help with the hacking parts of the game.  Amongst the things up for sale are new weapons, items that give extra energy and power or grenades which will attack multiple enemies at once.  The computer handling the trade will also heal the ghosts if they have no Hit points left for free.

The ship contains a variety of levels and rooms and each level has its own distinct look and feel.  The levels also vary in size considerably. In total there are four main levels as well as a tutorial section, these are accessed via a series of teleportation devices on the ships main deck and some of the later levels can be frustrating, but by then you should have honed the skills needed.  It is also worth leveling up the ghosts to make the hacking easier later on, just remember don't throw the PC out of the window if you can’t do a particular room in one attempt!

Right from the start the graphics and the look and feel of the game appealed to me.  The levels are very well designed with lots of nice touches and the characters are very interesting to look at and well animated. Considerable thought seems to have been put into making everything look as good as it could be and although robots aren't really supposed to look cute they somehow managed to do it. The game interface is minimal but is well thought out and functional.  Older game players such as me may remember a title on the Spectrum called Alien8 which was made by Ultimate -Play The Game (now going by the name of Rare on the Xbox 360). MrRobot bears a strong resemblance to this, but with new modern gameplay elements added.

Thankfully MrRobot supports a huge plethora of resolutions which is refreshing (even HDTV modes like 1920x1080) and while it’s true this game won’t stress even a modest PC with polygon shenanigans, the graphics make good use of the isometric viewpoint.

The plot is fairly decent for this type of game with some twists and turns which I’m not going to give away in this review and it doesn't take itself too seriously which is another bonus. The ending of the game can also be influenced by the choices made which is a nice departure from many titles.

The music is very good and worth listening to, unlike most games I didn’t find it boring, but maybe that was because I was engrossed in solving the puzzles.

Regarding value for money, some people I know would say that I am rather tight with my cash and they may be right, but I think the price is a little high.  Maybe I have grown accustomed to the prices on MS Live Arcade, but I think those prices are reasonable for a smallish game even on the PC.  Mr Robot's price at the time of the review is £15 or $30 and yes, it is good to support independent developers, but I would still have preferred to see this priced at a more competitive £10.

One handy feature of the game is the ability to play levels that other people have created with the game’s level editor so you can increase the replay value.  We can also design our own levels if we want to and then share them with others, this does help the games longetivity considerably.

A nice touch is that the game also contains achievements similar to those on the Xbox 360. We get them for doing particular things in the game, such as rescuing someone or exploring hidden areas.  You can also upload your high score to a leaderboard to see how well (or in my case how badly) you do.

Conclusion:

Although most people don't play many independently developed games this is a shame as there are some true gems out there.  Steam has started to get in on the act of getting these games out to wider audience and that’s a very good thing indeed.

I can safely say there haven't been many games like this, so there isn't a huge plethora of titles to compare it to apart from the aforementioned Alien8 or maybe at a push RoboBlitz, but that’s a fully 3D title that just so happens to have a robot in it.  It would be unfair to compare it to a RPG as that’s just a small part of the game as a whole.  What makes this game unique as it’s such a compelling mixture of the two. Go try out the free demo here.

I think Mr Robot would also make an excellent MS Live Arcade game as the Xbox 360 needs more quality puzzle / RPG games and it has the achievements and leaderboard already!

 

Gameplay 90/100 No nonsense old school playability, quite refreshing in this day and age. Graphics 85/100 While not super technically advanced the graphics are very well made and suit the game perfectly. Sound 80/100 No complaints on the music front, not ear jarring or out of place. Value 80/100 Could have done with being a bit cheaper perhaps but with the fact that you can make extra levels or download other peoples that adds to the longitivity. Multiplayer N/A You can compete against other people with a global leaderboard, but that’s about it Overall (not an average) 85/100 If you are a puzzle and or RPG fan then I highly recommend the game.  If you’re not you can always try the free demo and see if you like it.