Back when I first gotten a PC (a 486-DX 33 to be exact), it came with Prince of Persia pre-installed onto it, and after having played through that and several shareware titles like Duke Nukem, I came to a conclusion that it was the hardest platformers that I’ve ever played (and I still think it is). Having said that, I just finished a session with Endeavor Bros’ latest iPhone title Retrobot, and I felt that the game deserves a top 3 place in my list of hardest platformers, right up there with Prince of Persia.
Playing this colourful tank shooter, you can obviously see influences such as Contra and Metal Slug. The game features a robot protagonist named Retrobot that looks like the a combination between Wall-E and that robot from the film Short Circuit, Johnny 5. He is out to save his maker who is captured by a bunch of evil robots. The controls for the game look deceptively simple but practice is required to manage a pair of sliders that control how Retrobot moves and shoots.
One thing must be said about the amount of action available in each level, it’s relentless and enemy fire, although not as intense as a bullet hell game, will give you enough food for thought when it comes to observing enemy patterns. It’s essential against the larger enemy units and during boss fights. Fortunately, there are power-ups and health refills to pick up from destroyed enemy units.
Retrobot’s level progression is made through an over-map (like the one that you see in Super Mario Bros 3) and in between you get to see cut-scenes unfold ala comic book style to progress the story. Do pay attention during these cut-scenes, not only for the story but also to spot any video gaming homages and parodies. It’s pretty cool that Endeavor Bros put in place so much attention to detail in this game, creating a really good experience both on part of the gameplay and in the story.
Nine Over Ten 9/10 rates Retrobot at a 4.5 out of 5! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The game is available on the App Store for the iPhone 4 or better at a special introductory price of 99 cents: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/retrobot/id558825767?mt=8
A review code was provide to Nine Over Ten 9/10 for the purpose of this review.
