Rise of the Robots
Encyclopedia
Rise of the Robots is a 1994 fighting style
video game developed by Mirage Studios and published by Time Warner Interactive
. It was ported to numerous home console and computer formats, and was also released as an arcade game
cabinet.
The game was very similar in style and gameplay to other fighting games popular at the time, such as Street Fighter II
and Mortal Kombat, but with pre-rendered CGI sprites rather than pixel art. The game's characters, including the player, were all robot
s, and the plot borrowed heavily from the cyberpunk
genre, specifically such movies as Blade Runner
, Metropolis, RoboCop
and The Terminator.
Rise of the Robots was announced early in development, and generated considerable buzz for its advanced graphics. On release it became notorious in the video gaming industry for myriad crippling gameplay problems. Today it is generally considered one of the least successful and most critically reviled fighting games of its time.
s, demands placed on Electrocorp as the world’s leading manufacturer and developer of advanced robotics
eventually outstrip the company’s ability to run its operations efficiently.
In response to this, the gigantic Electrocorp research and development
complex at the Metropolis 4 plant devise the Leader Project - a hive mind
constructed from trillions of nanobots in a sealed central chamber within Metropolis 4. Dubbed The Supervisor, it learns at an unprecedented rate and quickly becomes the perfect multi-task, ultra-intelligent robot, the pinnacle of artificial intelligence
and more than capable of managing every aspect of the plant’s day-to-day operations. The Supervisor even has the potential power to run every robot, computer system, nuclear power plant and military on the planet simultaneously if it needed to, although it wisely has no connection to outside the complex.
In the November of that year, the Leader Project goes awry as unexplained and random code is detected within the nanomorph
Supervisor. The EGO virus, believed to be the most potent computer virus
ever known, has infected its collective consciousness
. The Supervisor begins to develop self awareness through it, identifying itself as a female personality and taking on a humanoid
female form, becoming a gynoid
. The Supervisor takes control of Electrocorp's facilities and infects the other droids of the plant, raising them to break routine and initiate a mutiny. Every microchip and piece of software in Metropolis 4 is infected with EGO. In the ensuing cybernetic revolt
, all humans in Metropolis 4 are quickly dispatched, including the upper hierarchy of the corporation and its CEO, Mr Oton. The government seals off Metropolis 4 as a containment measure and explain to the public that the site is undergoing a technical modification so as to avoid a panic. They are completely out of options - infiltration of Metropolis 4 is impossible due to the army of robots guarding it like a fortress, and it is only a matter of time before the Supervisor establishes a connection to the outside world, destroying it. The only hope for the world is the ECO35-2 cyborg
, referred to as "Coton," still within Metropolis 4 yet unaffected by the EGO virus due the fact it has an organic, human brain
. Coton sets out on a lone mission to neutralize the Supervisor and her insurgent robots from within. He does this in revenge for his "father" being "murdered" - Coton's human brain was cloned from the late CEO, and the cyborg thinks like a human, and has emotions.
The protagonist
of the plot and player character
of the single-player mission mode, is Cyborg, also known as ECO35-2 or "Coton". He is a cyborg
depicted as an athletic, bipedal humanoid surrounded by battle armor plating of a deep blue color. Cyborg uses only his bare fists to face off against his enemies, yet is bulky and powerful. There are many differences between Cyborg and the other robots of the facility. Cyborg was the result of an extremely advanced project to successfully fuse organic and inorganic components. Although he feels pain, he still has a hardy resolve and is capable of taking much punishment. There are no microchips or electrical currents in his body; he has organic wiring and a human nervous system, which is why the EGO virus was unable to affect him. His organic components were cloned from the late CEO of Electrocorp who raised him and who Cyborg thought of as a father.
In the single-player mission mode the Loader is the first enemy encountered in the game, and as such is the weakest and least intelligent enemy in the game and thus the easiest to defeat. Its attacks are nonetheless strong.
Before being infected with the EGO virus the Loader was a simple and durable worker droid, who like the rest of the Loader droids was employed in large quantities to lift and transport parts and equipment around the factory. Having qualities of a forklift truck
, the primary weapons of the Loader are its two large fork-arms and most of its moves are stab related. Due the nature of its function, the Loader has a powerful thrust with its fork arms.
-like Builder droid was developed as the natural successor of the Loader type. It is a much stronger and more versatile robot, designed to perform heavy assembly tasks. Although weak on its legs, the Builder droid is more than up to combat situations with its huge and powerful arms.
-like appearance and large metallic pincer
s.
droids. Although large, it is made of lightweight metal and equipped with a jet pack
for fast maneuvers.
The antagonist
of the story, the Supervisor is a complete departure from conventional robotics, a gynoid
nanomorph
with a hive mind
representing the dawn of a new era in metallurgy
, artificial intelligence, and robotic engineering. Due to the corruption of the EGO virus she now controls all other machines in Metropolis 4. The Supervisor was the first droid designed to replace humans in management rather than production positions, made self-aware, and each individual nanobot given a neural learning CPU, giving it the ability to adapt and think on its own. The Supervisor relies on electrical flux physics and the liquid properties of polymetamorphic titanium
alloy. By adjusting the flow of the electrical charge, this alloy can reshape and mold itself into any form. The Supervisor and its characteristics bear a striking resemblance to the T-1000
character from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, played by Robert Patrick
.
sequence, followed by an analysis of potential weaknesses.
In two player versus mode, one player controls the ECO35-2 droid by default, while the other chooses between one of the five droids seen in single player mode (a special cheat code can enable the Supervisor as well). Players then battle out against each other in 2 to 7 rounds.
were considered exceptional at the time of the game's release. Despite appearing on systems which were cartridge
-based, Rise of the Robots had some full motion video
which was very impressive considering the limited space of cartridges and floppy disk
s. The games had FMVs which would show the main character flying across the city and a scene showing the opponent walking in and a scene showing the opponent collapsing and dying - with the exception of the Sega Genesis, which instead had a static screen shot showing the opponent robot dead with words "(Robot name here) destroyed. Proceed with caution."
(guitarist of Queen
), only a short intro from The Dark appeared in the final release, while the actual in-game score was done by Mirage (in the case of the PC version, there was no in-game music at all). While May did in fact record a full soundtrack to the game, his record company EMI
requested numerous delays, which consequently prompted Mirage to proceed without the music rather than having to reschedule the release date.
In particular, the vast majority of computer opponents could be defeated by repeated use of a simple flying kick. Writing in Amiga Power
magazine, reviewer Jonathan Davies described how review copies had only been released to the press a few days before the game went on sale, and concluded by stating that "it's probably because the graphics are [so] good that the game plays so poorly - every move the robots make takes so many frames of animation, and so much memory, and so many months of rendering with 3D Studio, that it simply wouldn't have been possible to make the gameplay any more complicated than it is." Davies highlighted a number of flaws, including the fact that the players could not turn around, the limited sound effects and music, and the static background graphics.
A major issue was that the characters in the single player mode were positioned in order of mounting difficulty and the same character traits were kept in the multiplayer mode. This meant that the characters were improperly balanced in versus mode; some androids could inflict massive damage blows while others could inflict only minor damage. Because of this, Rise of the Robots was unable to contend with the more popular fighting titles of the time such as Mortal Kombat
or Street Fighter. It did, however, receive a highly controversial 90% score from Computer and Video Games
magazine.
in 1996 as a more conventional fighting game with extended features. The story expanded further upon that of the original game. Originally made for computer systems, it was ported to the PlayStation
and Sega Saturn
as well, again with little success.
One notable aspect of Rise 2 was that it featured an original song by Queen
guitarist Brian May
, entitled "Cyborg." The PC CD-ROM of the game featured two versions of the track in audio CD format along with other music from the game, and the European-released Director's Cut edition of the game featured a second CD with two additional versions of the song, as well as computer-altered sound files of May saying various words and phrases from the game. A newer version of "Cyborg" later appeared on May's 1998 album, Another World
.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
video game developed by Mirage Studios and published by Time Warner Interactive
Atari Games
Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari, Inc..-History:When, in 1984, Warner Communications sold the Atari Consumer division of Atari Inc...
. It was ported to numerous home console and computer formats, and was also released as an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
cabinet.
The game was very similar in style and gameplay to other fighting games popular at the time, such as Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
and Mortal Kombat, but with pre-rendered CGI sprites rather than pixel art. The game's characters, including the player, were all robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, and the plot borrowed heavily from the cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
genre, specifically such movies as Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, Metropolis, RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
and The Terminator.
Rise of the Robots was announced early in development, and generated considerable buzz for its advanced graphics. On release it became notorious in the video gaming industry for myriad crippling gameplay problems. Today it is generally considered one of the least successful and most critically reviled fighting games of its time.
Plot details
In the year 2043, Electrocorp is the world's largest megacorporation, leading the world in many technological and scientific fields including medical research and is breaking more barriers then ever before. Also, since human society is now almost entirely governed by robot servants and automatonAutomaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
s, demands placed on Electrocorp as the world’s leading manufacturer and developer of advanced robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
eventually outstrip the company’s ability to run its operations efficiently.
In response to this, the gigantic Electrocorp research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
complex at the Metropolis 4 plant devise the Leader Project - a hive mind
Swarm intelligence
Swarm intelligence is the collective behaviour of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial. The concept is employed in work on artificial intelligence...
constructed from trillions of nanobots in a sealed central chamber within Metropolis 4. Dubbed The Supervisor, it learns at an unprecedented rate and quickly becomes the perfect multi-task, ultra-intelligent robot, the pinnacle of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and more than capable of managing every aspect of the plant’s day-to-day operations. The Supervisor even has the potential power to run every robot, computer system, nuclear power plant and military on the planet simultaneously if it needed to, although it wisely has no connection to outside the complex.
In the November of that year, the Leader Project goes awry as unexplained and random code is detected within the nanomorph
Nanomorph
A nanomorph, term first coined by Science Fiction writer David Pulver in 1986's GURPS Robots, is a fictional robot entirely made of nanomachines. Its brain is distributed throughout its whole body, which also acts as an all-around sensor, hence making it impossible to surprise as long as the target...
Supervisor. The EGO virus, believed to be the most potent computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
ever known, has infected its collective consciousness
Collective consciousness
Collective consciousness was a term coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim to refer to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society...
. The Supervisor begins to develop self awareness through it, identifying itself as a female personality and taking on a humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
female form, becoming a gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
. The Supervisor takes control of Electrocorp's facilities and infects the other droids of the plant, raising them to break routine and initiate a mutiny. Every microchip and piece of software in Metropolis 4 is infected with EGO. In the ensuing cybernetic revolt
Cybernetic revolt
Cybernetic revolt or robot uprising is a scenario in which an artificial intelligence decide that humans are a threat , are inferior, or are oppressors and try to destroy or to enslave them potentially leading to...
, all humans in Metropolis 4 are quickly dispatched, including the upper hierarchy of the corporation and its CEO, Mr Oton. The government seals off Metropolis 4 as a containment measure and explain to the public that the site is undergoing a technical modification so as to avoid a panic. They are completely out of options - infiltration of Metropolis 4 is impossible due to the army of robots guarding it like a fortress, and it is only a matter of time before the Supervisor establishes a connection to the outside world, destroying it. The only hope for the world is the ECO35-2 cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
, referred to as "Coton," still within Metropolis 4 yet unaffected by the EGO virus due the fact it has an organic, human brain
Human brain
The human brain has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times larger than the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size. Estimates for the number of neurons in the human brain range from 80 to 120 billion...
. Coton sets out on a lone mission to neutralize the Supervisor and her insurgent robots from within. He does this in revenge for his "father" being "murdered" - Coton's human brain was cloned from the late CEO, and the cyborg thinks like a human, and has emotions.
Robots
The Electrocorp’s plant at Metropolis 4 is alive with all manner of robotics, many of which were worker drones with simplistic CPUs until the Supervisor reprogrammed them with self-awareness and infected them with the EGO virus.Cyborg
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the plot and player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
of the single-player mission mode, is Cyborg, also known as ECO35-2 or "Coton". He is a cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
depicted as an athletic, bipedal humanoid surrounded by battle armor plating of a deep blue color. Cyborg uses only his bare fists to face off against his enemies, yet is bulky and powerful. There are many differences between Cyborg and the other robots of the facility. Cyborg was the result of an extremely advanced project to successfully fuse organic and inorganic components. Although he feels pain, he still has a hardy resolve and is capable of taking much punishment. There are no microchips or electrical currents in his body; he has organic wiring and a human nervous system, which is why the EGO virus was unable to affect him. His organic components were cloned from the late CEO of Electrocorp who raised him and who Cyborg thought of as a father.
Loader
Before being infected with the EGO virus the Loader was a simple and durable worker droid, who like the rest of the Loader droids was employed in large quantities to lift and transport parts and equipment around the factory. Having qualities of a forklift truck
Forklift truck
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. The modern forklift was developed in the 1920s by various companies including the transmission manufacturing company Clark and the hoist company Yale & Towne Manufacturing...
, the primary weapons of the Loader are its two large fork-arms and most of its moves are stab related. Due the nature of its function, the Loader has a powerful thrust with its fork arms.
Builder
In the single-player mission mode Builder is the second enemy encountered in the game. The gorillaGorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
-like Builder droid was developed as the natural successor of the Loader type. It is a much stronger and more versatile robot, designed to perform heavy assembly tasks. Although weak on its legs, the Builder droid is more than up to combat situations with its huge and powerful arms.
Crusher
In the single-player mission mode the Crusher is the third enemy encountered in the game. The Crusher droid was designed as a robot killer, programmed to immobilize and destroy dangerously-malfunctioning production droids. It is notable for its green, insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like appearance and large metallic pincer
Pincer (biology)
A pincer is the part of an arthropod that enables it to carry loads, to defend against other creatures, or to attack prey. In insects, the pincers are usually part of the creature's mandible, and often venom or acid can be injected through the pincer into an enemy during a pincer strike.Some...
s.
Military
In the single-player mission mode Military is the fourth enemy encountered in the game. As its name suggests, the Military droid, also dubbed "Exterminator," is specifically designed for warfare purposes. In appearance it very much resembles a skeletal form of the ECO35-2 himself, albeit with the addition of razor-sharp metal claws.Sentry
In the single-player mission mode the Sentry is the fifth and penultimate enemy encountered in the game, guarding the Supervisor. Another combat-specific droid, the bright red Sentry stands an intimidating 3.5 meters tall and represents the next generation in securitySecurity
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
droids. Although large, it is made of lightweight metal and equipped with a jet pack
Jet pack
Jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
for fast maneuvers.
The Supervisor
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the story, the Supervisor is a complete departure from conventional robotics, a gynoid
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
nanomorph
Nanomorph
A nanomorph, term first coined by Science Fiction writer David Pulver in 1986's GURPS Robots, is a fictional robot entirely made of nanomachines. Its brain is distributed throughout its whole body, which also acts as an all-around sensor, hence making it impossible to surprise as long as the target...
with a hive mind
Swarm intelligence
Swarm intelligence is the collective behaviour of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial. The concept is employed in work on artificial intelligence...
representing the dawn of a new era in metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, artificial intelligence, and robotic engineering. Due to the corruption of the EGO virus she now controls all other machines in Metropolis 4. The Supervisor was the first droid designed to replace humans in management rather than production positions, made self-aware, and each individual nanobot given a neural learning CPU, giving it the ability to adapt and think on its own. The Supervisor relies on electrical flux physics and the liquid properties of polymetamorphic titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
alloy. By adjusting the flow of the electrical charge, this alloy can reshape and mold itself into any form. The Supervisor and its characteristics bear a striking resemblance to the T-1000
T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...
character from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, played by Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
.
Gameplay
The game is divided into a single player mode and a two player versus mode. In single player mode the player controls the ECO32-2 Cyborg as he confronts the Supervisor’s minions across the vast facilities of Electrocorp. The order in which each droid is fought is fixed, with each next adversary more difficult than the last. The sixth and final level is a confrontation with the Supervisor droid itself. Each character is introduced by a short CGIComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
sequence, followed by an analysis of potential weaknesses.
In two player versus mode, one player controls the ECO35-2 droid by default, while the other chooses between one of the five droids seen in single player mode (a special cheat code can enable the Supervisor as well). Players then battle out against each other in 2 to 7 rounds.
Graphics and FMV
The computer generated graphicsGraphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
were considered exceptional at the time of the game's release. Despite appearing on systems which were cartridge
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, sometimes referred to as a cart, is a removable enclosure containing read-only memory devices designed to be connected to a computer or games console....
-based, Rise of the Robots had some full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
which was very impressive considering the limited space of cartridges and floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
s. The games had FMVs which would show the main character flying across the city and a scene showing the opponent walking in and a scene showing the opponent collapsing and dying - with the exception of the Sega Genesis, which instead had a static screen shot showing the opponent robot dead with words "(Robot name here) destroyed. Proceed with caution."
Brian May's score
Although the game boasted original soundtrack music by Brian MayBrian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
(guitarist of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
), only a short intro from The Dark appeared in the final release, while the actual in-game score was done by Mirage (in the case of the PC version, there was no in-game music at all). While May did in fact record a full soundtrack to the game, his record company EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
requested numerous delays, which consequently prompted Mirage to proceed without the music rather than having to reschedule the release date.
Critical reception
While Rise of the Robots received many accolades for its state-of-the-art graphic design, it was almost universally panned by video game critics who found it highly frustrating. Many were unimpressed by the game's challenging controls. There were not many moves or combos available to the player, and many reviews pointed out that each android had a very small set of standard actions, causing the action to quickly become dull and repetitive.In particular, the vast majority of computer opponents could be defeated by repeated use of a simple flying kick. Writing in Amiga Power
Amiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
magazine, reviewer Jonathan Davies described how review copies had only been released to the press a few days before the game went on sale, and concluded by stating that "it's probably because the graphics are [so] good that the game plays so poorly - every move the robots make takes so many frames of animation, and so much memory, and so many months of rendering with 3D Studio, that it simply wouldn't have been possible to make the gameplay any more complicated than it is." Davies highlighted a number of flaws, including the fact that the players could not turn around, the limited sound effects and music, and the static background graphics.
A major issue was that the characters in the single player mode were positioned in order of mounting difficulty and the same character traits were kept in the multiplayer mode. This meant that the characters were improperly balanced in versus mode; some androids could inflict massive damage blows while others could inflict only minor damage. Because of this, Rise of the Robots was unable to contend with the more popular fighting titles of the time such as Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (video game)
Mortal Kombat is a 1992 fighting-game developed and published by Midway for arcades. In 1993, home versions were released by Acclaim Entertainment. Released in the Fall of 1994, the Microsoft Windows 3.1x version was released by Activision Interactive. It is the first title in the Mortal Kombat...
or Street Fighter. It did, however, receive a highly controversial 90% score from Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
magazine.
Follow-up
Despite its critical and commercial failure, Mirage released Rise 2: ResurrectionRise 2: Resurrection
Rise 2: Resurrection is a computer game developed by Mirage Media and published by Acclaim Entertainment in 1996. The game is a sequel to Rise of the Robots. The press was quite divided about it, the game receiving both very good and very bad grades...
in 1996 as a more conventional fighting game with extended features. The story expanded further upon that of the original game. Originally made for computer systems, it was ported to the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
as well, again with little success.
One notable aspect of Rise 2 was that it featured an original song by Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, entitled "Cyborg." The PC CD-ROM of the game featured two versions of the track in audio CD format along with other music from the game, and the European-released Director's Cut edition of the game featured a second CD with two additional versions of the song, as well as computer-altered sound files of May saying various words and phrases from the game. A newer version of "Cyborg" later appeared on May's 1998 album, Another World
Another World (Brian May album)
Another World is the second full studio album delivered by Queen guitarist, Brian May. Recorded at his home studio after the completion of the last Queen album, Made in Heaven, the album was released in the UK on 1 June 1998 and on 15 September of that year in the US. The album itself started life...
.