Released by Nihon Bussan/AV Japan for the arcades (1987), Robocop is a side-scrolling run 'n gun and beat 'em up game loosely based on the Robocop film story! The game was converted by Ocean Software to home computers and consoles back in 1988.
Review
STORY / GAMEPLAY Patrolman Murphy was the 32nd cop to be gunned down in Detroit since Security Concepts Inc. took charge of the Detroit Police Department. It was the opportunity for OCP to present their plans for a safer city. So the OCP took destroyed Murphy and transformed him into a deadly killing machine with a reinforced titanium body and other robotic body parts! Though the scientists erased Murphy's memory, they could not completely wipe it out, so Robocop sets out to track down the gang that killed him and terminate them. Your mission is to save innocent Detroit citizens from the evil plans of OCP to conquer the city and the baddies are not happy with it, so you must fight hard even against your own creators. The enemies attack in groups, riding motorbikes, yielding chainsaws, shotguns and grenades. Robocop has limited ammunition supply but you can get extra ammo as you progress by smashing ammo crates. There are also some special bullets with enhanced features scattered around. At the end of each level you'll have to destroy a big boss (like the ED209) and you're also given the opportunity to earn a few bonus points by either taking out mockup targets or trying your luck in a photo-quiz sequence where Robocop must identify and fix the photo of a particular criminal!
GRAPHICS / SOUND The graphics look nice on the ZX with several background details though only in black and white. Robocop and the rest of sprites are detailed and well animated but the action is a bit slow since the game is using software scrolling rather than hardware. The 128K version features Robocop's sampled voice at the intro saying "Robocop!” The in-game tune is good (but exists only on the 128k version) and there are no sound effects during gameplay (as in all 8bit versions).
CPU: Z80 @ 3.5 MHz MEMORY: 16 KB / 48 KB / 128 KB GRAPHICS: Video output is through an RF modulator and was designed for use with contemporary portable television sets, for a simple colour graphic display. Features a palette of 15 shades: seven colours at two levels of brightness each, plus black. The image resolution is 256x192 with the same colour limitations. SOUND: Early models (48k) had sound output through a beeper on the machine itself. This is capable of producing one channel with 10 octaves. Late models (128k) fetured a three-channel audio via the AY-3-8912 chip, MIDI compatibility