Review: Robokill - The Definitive Dual Stick Shooter?

Overview

Very few games are made exclusively for the iPad, and when they are you take notice. Such is the case with Robokill which is a top down dual stick shooter in a map based exploration layout. You play as a robot whose mission is to save Titan Prime outpost from waves and waves of enemy droids.

Features

There are 13 main missions with each one having a map layout with multiple rooms, and each room constituting one level. With that basis there are over 450 levels, and as you progress you can level up your robot, and switch out weaponry and armament.

The Good

Now this is how a dual stick shooter should be made. Robokill is a full featured missions based top down shooter, and not just a simple survival game. The game offers a deluxe single player campaign that just happens to use dual stick controls rather than making a game around dual stick controls. There is an absolute load of content with the map based missions that offer up over 450 rooms to explore. Each room you enter offers a new challenge, and gives you a quick burst of a lot of action. Most rooms are packed with enemies, and it's not about just blasting forward as you will need to use some elements to take cover in order to survive. The map based level layout allows you to choose to try to clear every room, or choose the quickest path to completing the current mission. The game feels like a full computer title that was brought to the iPad without losing anything in the transition. Making it through the whole game even in the quickest fashion will last hours and hours, and then you have the chance to go through every room. The game really looks great running on the iPad with such ornate room designs with the futuristic space outpost feel. When actually in action everything runs without a hitch as there is true bullet hell with your shots, and all of the enemies packed in each room. The ground of each room is destructible, and the devastation stays. Your robot levels up as you progress, and you collect cash and other items to outfit your robot. You have four weapon spots and four defense spots allowing for hand blasters and shoulder cannons with light medium and heavy weaponry.

The Bad

The only real complaint is that the game is framed rather than extending the play area to the full size of the iPad. There is wasted space with a border around the play area where the dual stick controls sit which could easily hover over the play area like many other similar games. The game really looks great inside the frame, but it would look so much better with full size art assets to fill the iPad. It would be nice to see some kind of online connectivity with the game, but that doesn't take away from what is included. The dual stick controls are effortless, and fit the iPad well though there are instances of sticky controls.

The Verdict

Robokill is one of the most deluxe iPad games to date that really takes advantage of being made for the iPad instead of just a port of an existing iPhone title. This is the dual stick shooter we've been waiting for with an overload of content across 13 missions containing over 450 levels of shooting fun. The game is really well designed, though it doesn't fit the iPad screen. Robokill is a should buy for $7.99 that is one of the best iPad games, and a must for shooter fans. The game is just like a computer title which would probably retail for $9.99 on steam so the price is just right on the iPad.

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