Rise of the Robots

The Good
In retrospect, at least the PC version looked like a demo vehicle for the industry and technologies like CD-ROM or Philips' CDi system. Excellent graphics, stunning cut scenes and backgrounds. Welcome to the world of SuperVGA!

The Bad
For a fighting game, it was nothing but lackluster and no match for console giants like Street Fighter. The fighting system feels poor, incomplete, and moreover it is too easy to win the fights by spamming your opponents with the same move. As for the graphics, they had no counterpart in sound design or music. The PC version is reaaaaally quiet on that behalf. Brian May's intro riff from the Queen-dustbin, a couple metal smashing sfx, that's it. At least other platforms got cool scores by Richard Joseph et al.

The Bottom Line
RotR was all the hype back then because of it's graphics, but it's all just looks. The PC-DOS version demonstrated, what SVGA and CD-ROM were capable of, but as a fighting game it underperformed and could be beat too easily and quickly. Great for nostalgia, but not really for replaying it.

The Good
Released after a tidal wave of immense hype, this game (also released for the Commodore Amiga) is something of a legend in 'bad game' circles. The developers had obviously spent all their time tweaking the gorgeous, rendered sprites, without spending any time writing a game.

The Bad
Problems are legion - you can defeat all the opponents with a single move, you can't turn around after leaping past the enemy, and, most damning of all, the game is less fun, less intelligent, and shallower than the old Sinclair Spectrum classic 'Way of the Exploding Fist', or the contemporary 'International Karate +' (or, for that matter, 'Mortal Kombat'). Worst of all, it sold absolutely loads, and there was even a sequel, which, astoundingly, was almost as bad. See also the similarly disasterous 'Microcosm', and 'Epic', amongst others.

The Bottom Line
Legendarily over-hyped, under-delivering graphical demo posing as a game.

The Good
For one thing, the graphics are incredible for the SNES. The game even has frigging FMVs. The sound is also amazing for the system, I would listen to this stuff on my PSP. That's all I like, though......

The Bad
As soon as you start the first round, the game instantly rockets downward. The first problem I noticed is the pathetic A.I. you can win the ENTIRE game by pressing the medium kick button. I just gave the most useful tactic. NO JOKE. The animation is as stiff as a wooden board. The Multiplayer is best described as unplayable, because the characters are so unbelievably unbalanced, and you can only play as the blue guy who beats the drums. It's tedious as ALL HELL.

The Bottom Line
This is a shining example of what polish can to to human minds, I didn't buy the game when it came out, because I could see the warning signs a mile away. (Over hype, people.) This proves that graphics don't make the game.

Graphics:10/10 Sound:9/10 Gameplay:3/10 Replay Value:2/10 Fun Factor:0/10

THE VERDICT IS: 1 1/2 stars out of 5

Don't even bother, Rise Of The Robots is just not worth your time.