On the surface, RobotnGun HD has the all the makings for a gaming hit. The shoot ’em up Transformer-type game features good robots fighting evil robots in a futuristic landscape, but a few shortcomings are preventing the game from becoming the next hot hit in the app store.
Although the iTunes store boasts an intriguing humanity saving storyline, there isn’t much about the actual game that returns to the story at all. Instead you’re sent through a series of phases where you have to beat one wave of robots at a time. This structure seems to lack a meaningful campaign mode, and the only real benefit of levels is the ability to go back into the factory to upgrade your robot and/or weapons during the breaks.
The actual playing arena is decently executed both graphically and in how the actual game is played. The joystick on the left controls the direction that your robot moves as it scoots over a metal-type floor of electrodes and armor, while the joystick on the right controls the direction of your gunshots. At first this setup is a bit difficult to get used to, but after a few minutes the differentiating controls are both powerful and fun.
Once you get into the groove of things, the robots that close in and surround you from all sides become more persistant and skilled. They may start as bug-like creatures that only hurt you when you crash into them, but in time you’re faced with dueling shots and a powerful boss. Each robot you destroy earns you money which can in turn be spent on robot and weapons upgrades in the factory, which is essentially a fancy store that looks like the robot equivalent of a robot’s underground mechanical room.
In the beginning everything about this setup is appealing, but after a bit of time the game starts to feel repetitive. Part of the reason for this is the lack of a story, but the achievements don’t feel all that substantive either, and there isn’t enough variety in the 150 levels to really hold your attention. There’s nothing wrong with RobotnGun innately, but overall it just misses the mark.
