Robocop: Rogue City – PS5 Version, Reviewed on PS5 – First Person Shooter, Action, Sci-Fi
Have you ever wanted to be an unstoppable armored gun-blaster wielding cyborg cop, with one goal of exterminating crime while saving the run-down crime fueled city of Old Detroit? Well, now is your chance. Enter the shoes of the famous Robocop, grab your Auto-9, get in your cruiser and take to the streets.
Story:
Taking place somewhere after the events of the original first two Robocop films, Rogue City aims to mirror the feeling of the movie-created universe and assumes you know some of the backstory. Alex Murphy was a cop who got shot to absolute shit, with bit parts of him saved and rebuilt as a cyborg cop funded by megacorp Onni Consumer Products (OCP).
As crime again overruns the citizens of the city, Robocop and his partner Anne Lewis are on the case. A hostage situation at the local Channel 9 studio puts Robocop into a dire situation with a female hostage that causes a glitch to his internal programming. Remembering his wife when he was still a human cop, there is hesitation and Lewis must help. As there is worry about Robocop, a new OCP overseer is assigned and monitoring chips are installed.
Robocop is back on the streets, and looking for signs of a new crime lord dubbed “New Guy.” Multiple plots begin to form, and Robocop is at the center of a whirlwind of police, criminals, drug lords, gangs and explosions!
Gameplay:
Overall gameplay is pretty basic, but rewarding. You clunk around slowly as Robocop, and pull out your unlimited ammo absolute hand-cannon Auto-9 to eliminate any and all evil doers around you. That’s the main focus of the game, and the shooting is a total blast and fully rewarding. Your gun absolutely demolishes enemies, walls, vehicles and any explosive item in the room.
All arenas are set-up to provide you with maximum explosion potential and lien-up enemies with your blaster. Yes, you can pick up their weapons also, but the main gun is pretty hard to swap away from. Get experience from enemies and mission objectives, and then level up your guy.
Robocop can get plenty of personal and weapon upgrades, enhancing all sorts of combat abilities. He also can charge up some useful perks to help with the investigative and interrogation aspects of the game.
When not blasting everything in sight to smithereens, Robocop is scanning for clues or questioning perps. While neither of these mechanics go too deep, they are both fun and add some changes to the gameplay. Mostly the game is straightforward, but it does give choices in these interrogation moments as well as how Robocop responds to story mission moments and OCP questioning at the police station between quests.
There are a few small city area maps that you can stomp around freely, finding some side-quests and mini-investigations, but mostly the story missions are primarily linear. Enemy variation is slight; however that’s never much of an issue since the core gameplay is just blasting off with your Auto-9. Taking cover is less of a need, as your armor helps Robocop feel like the hero of the movies.
There are also some super nice touches, as original characters from the films, as well as the SUX 3000 and other great references show up.
Graphics:
The game looked just fine overall, and gets the job done. The graphics are not as deep, polished or detailed as most mega-budget games, but this game’s budget was also modest comparatively. They are solid enough though and get the job done. Designs from the movies are easy to identify, and many nice touches and nods to the films were made.
The decision to play this game should not be made on the quality of the graphics, however they are good enough and do not detract from the experience at all. The city and atmosphere looks pretty good, and the varying shoot-out environments differ just enough in variation.
Fun-level:
The music and look of the films combined with pretty fun gunplay leaves a pretty good experience overall. Trudging around the city and resolving issues is admittedly totally great. While missions are fairly linear, there is a bit of choice in responses that effects the outcome. Depending on your connection to the original movie and its Frank Miller penned sequel, you may get a lot out of this game.
For those with zero context to Robocop, while he moves a bit slow and that may feel clunky, the shooting is very satisfying and it’s a decently short investment of time.
Downloadable Content (DLC) Review:
Robocop: Rogue City has released the Alex Murphy and the Vanguard Pack. These DLC items are primarily cosmetic/items and do not affect the game in general.
Final Score: 7.0
DLC Score: N/A