Roboman is an XOR Corporation offering from the late eighties. It features classic arcade action and it essentially plays like a Lode Runner clone. It is a little-known game from an equally obscure publisher (also XOR Corporation) that is still highly playable in modern times.
The basic goal of Roboman, like Lode Runner, is navigating about the screen in search of an exit hole that will propel the protagonist to the next level or stage. As the user explores the platforms that create each level, he or she will acquire numerous items that will serve either as bonuses for extra points, or will upgrade the little robot man temporarily.
Roboman is an XOR Corporation offering from the late eighties. It features classic arcade action and it essentially plays like a Lode Runner clone. It is a little-known game from an equally obscure publisher (also XOR Corporation) that is still highly playable in modern times.
The basic goal of Roboman, like Lode Runner, is navigating about the screen in search of an exit hole that will propel the protagonist to the next level or stage. As the user explores the platforms that create each level, he or she will acquire numerous items that will serve either as bonuses for extra points, or will upgrade the little robot man temporarily.
Roboman is a very simple and straightforward game that features simple and straightforward game play. While
the game does not add anything new to this particular platforming genre, it does make good use of tactics that users have been proven to enjoy in other similar games, such as Lode Runner. In this game, the user is basically attempting to pop little colored balloons all around the platforms. Some users call these Power Pills, but they look like small floating balloons. Eventually, the roboman will locate a key which will serve as his exit ticket to the next level of platforms. As previously mentioned, there are bonuses along the way. Some levels contain springboards that allow the user to jump extra high, sometimes finding hidden areas to explore or reaching a balloon containing an extra-cool item or high-point bonus. The user will glean more points if he manages to transverse the entire level and leave no balloon unpopped, which is somewhat difficult given the hidden rooms and treasures that many stages provide. It is not, however, necessary to destroy all of the balloons in order to advance to the next level.
On the whole, Roboman does not offer the user any novel ideas or superior innovations for the world of platform gaming. However, it does do a nice job of including many ideas that other games, such as Lode Runner, Jumpman or even the Super Mario Brothers series, have already proven as entertaining. While it scores low for originality, it receives a high mark for effectively blending many aspects of these games into one, very playable platformer. It is still a basic game and would be more suited for gamers new to the genre, making a great little download for beginners.
