If you've been playing games for a while, just saying the phrase 'licensed game' probably makes you feel dirty. Most licensed games are released to correspond with a film, television show, or some other form of media, banking on the success of the source material to boost sales figures of the game. Far too often, these games have limited budgets, strict timelines for developers to meet, and way too much creative input by marketing drones who don't know the first thing about making a video game. The results are almost always disastrous wastes of time and plastic that will quickly be forgotten (or buried in the desert, in the case of the especially terrible ET for Atari).

Cheats, Tips, Tricks, Walkthroughs and Secrets for Robocop 2 on the NES, with a game help system for those that are stuck.

However, every once in a while a licensed game manages to break free from the bonds of mediocrity and truly shine. I've managed to compile a list of ten games that had absolutely no reason to be good, yet still somehow ended up becoming classics.

Back in the 1990s, 7up had a mascot they called Cool Spot. He was basically the red dot on the 7up logo, but with appendages and dark sunglasses. I don't know who decided to give him his own video game, but that person deserves a medal. The original Cool Spot game was pure magic, featuring brilliant level design, tight controls, and a soundtrack that dominates just about anything else from the Genesis era. The only complaint you could possibly make is that some of the later levels were just re-imagined versions of the first few levels in the game, but that's no biggie. Most of us probably never got that far since the second half of this game was excruciatingly difficult and players were given a very limited amount of lives and continues. This game was so popular that it spawned a sequel, Spot Goes to Hollywood, which was also insanely good, but for some reason didn't receive the attention that its predecessor did.

Rainbow Six was loosely based off a Tom Clancy novel that has never (yet) had a film version. But the game featured some exceptional tactical gameplay that rewarded stealth and forced players to command squad members in order to successfully complete missions. It allowed players to build their own squad in whichever way they preferred, and there was almost always a plethora of various strategies that could successfully accomplish a goal. This was a game truly ahead of its time, and has given birth to a successful video game franchise that continues to this day.

Ducktales was a great cartoon series in the late 1980s. When it was made into a video game, it was put in the hands of the geniuses who created Mega Man. And it shows. Ducktales for NES shares a lot of qualities with the Blue Bomber's games: solid gameplay, the option to play through the levels in whichever order you preferred, and some of the best music of its era. In fact, many 8-bit enthusiasts hail the song from Ducktales' Moon level as the single greatest song to appear in a NES game. With so much to love, this game was a true classic.

There was a brief period in the 1990s in which Disney was pretty consistently releasing quality content. This content leaked over into the video game world, providing a fairly steady stream of great games for the Sega Genesis. For example, The Lion King and Mickey Mania were two titles that were surprisingly better than a good percentage of the games they were competing against back then. But the Genesis version of Aladdin has always towered over the rest of them. Even though the soundtrack contained mostly stripped-down versions of music from the film, pretty much every song in the game was great. Its graphics were among the best of the era, with an exquisite hand-drawn look. And to top it all off, the phenomenal action sequences included a couple of intense magic carpet rides and an unforgettable Indiana-Jones-inspired boulder chase. Aladdin was a hard game to not enjoy, no matter how young or old you were.

The folks at Turbine, makers of Dungeons and Dragons Online, were not new to the MMO scene when they started working on The Lord of the Rings Online. The years of experience they had gained while building persistent online worlds had taught them a lot about how to do it properly. The Lord of the Rings Online brought players to a Middle-Earth that felt exactly like it should, based on the beloved novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. While there were some bumps along the way, this MMO has grown into a deep experience, one that could easily consume hundreds of hours of your life. It had gameplay similar to WoW, but a look that was much more realistic and detailed. Tolkien fans looking forward to a non-WoW MMO experience found a lot to appreciate in this beautiful game.

RoboCop is a series of video games based on the RoboCop movies that were produced on various platforms by several companies between 1988 and 2014.

RoboCop[edit]

RoboCop is a run & gun and beat 'em up hybrid arcade game developed and published by Data East.^[1] In the game, a player controls RoboCop who advances through various stages that are taken from the 1987 movie. The bonus screen is a target shooting range that uses a first-person perspective. The intermission features digitized voices from the actors. RoboCop was licensed to Data East by UK-based Ocean Software who in turn had obtained the rights straight from Orion Pictures at the script stage.^[2]

RoboCop 2[edit]

RoboCop 2 is a side-scrolling platform game developed for Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. Ocean Software developed and published several versions, and Data East manufactured an arcade version.

RoboCop 3[edit]

RoboCop 3 is a 1991video game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean for the Amiga. The game features multiple gameplay styles. During 1992 and 1993, other versions consisting of side-scrollingplatform gameplay were released for the Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Gear, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and ZX Spectrum. The SNES version had what many considered to be extremely difficult gameplay. It was largely critically panned upon release. Flying Edge (a subsidiary of Acclaim Entertainment) would later publish this version to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear.

RoboCop Versus The Terminator[edit]

RoboCop Versus The Terminator was released for a number of platforms and based on the RoboCop and Terminator franchises.

In the future, human soldiers of John Connor's resistance force against the machines are fighting a losing war against Skynet and its robot forces. Discovering that one of the foundation technologies for Skynet is the cybernetics technology used in the creation of cyborg police officer RoboCop, Flo, a resistance soldier, is sent back in time to destroy RoboCop and stop Skynet from being built. However, Skynet learns of the time travel attempt and sends Terminators to stop Flo.

In the game, the player controls RoboCop, who may move across the screen, jump, fire and exchange weapons. RoboCop starts with the Auto-9 which has unlimited ammunition. Other weapons may be more powerful and carry unlimited ammunition as well. Beginning the game on a mission of law enforcement, RoboCop soon meets up with Flo and must engage in battle against Terminators, the forces of OCP and several obstacles. Upon discovering one of the Terminators has infiltrated the OCP building, RoboCop plugs himself into a console to reprogram the security, only to fall into a trap and be digitized. After his body is disassembled and used for building Skynet, RoboCop watches Skynet come to power before using his digitized mind to seize control of an abandoned robotics factory, rebuild himself, and begin to destroy Skynet in the future.

RoboCop (2001)[edit]

In 1999, Titus Software acquired the rights for RoboCop video games.^[3] By 2001, Titus had begun development of a RoboCop game for the Game Boy Color (GBC) and Game Boy Advance (GBA), with an expected release in the fourth quarter of 2001. The GBA version featured identical gameplay to the 1988 RoboCop game.^[4][5][6] The GBC version was released later that year.^[7][8] In May 2002, Titus unveiled more screenshots of the GBA version, which was expected for release in October 2002,^[9] but the game was ultimately cancelled.^[10]

RoboCop (2003)[edit]

RoboCop was developed and published by Titus in 2003, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The following year, Titus released a GameCube version in Japan, under the title RoboCop: Aratanaru Kiki (ロボコップ 〜新たなる危機〜, RoboKoppu 〜Aratanaru Kiki〜, lit. 'RoboCop: New Crisis').^[11] The game allows the player to play as RoboCop and to uncover a sinister plot involving OCP, local gangsters dealing a deadly new synthetic drug and a powerful cyborg known only as MIND. As a last hope, RoboCop must capture, destroy, or arrest hostile characters in a desperate search for clues and evidence. The Xbox version received 'unfavorable' reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[12]

RoboCop (2004)[edit]

RoboCop is a side-scrolling action platform game. It was released for mobile phones and is based on the 1987 film, featuring RoboCop as he attempts to stop Clarence Boddicker and his gang.^[13][14][15] Developer Digital Bridges announced the game in May 2004, as part of an agreement with MGM to produce video games based on the studio's film franchises.^[13][14]RoboCop was released in North America in October 2004.^[16]IGN rated the game 8.5 out of 10, praising the graphics and music.^[15]

RoboCop (2014)[edit]

RoboCop is a 2014 free-to-play shooter game developed and published by Glu Mobile for iOS and Android. The game served as a tie-in to the 2014 RoboCop remake film,^[17] although it follows a different plot in which RoboCop fights against holographic enemies and robots in a training simulation.^[18][19]RoboCop is played as a third-person shooter.^[17] RoboCop can use various weapons throughout the game's missions, and can also take cover behind objects.^[20][18][21]RoboCop was in a soft launch phase in Canada as of October 2013.^[22] The game was released for iOS on January 7, 2014, while the Android version was released on January 15,^[17] prior to the film's release in February 2014.^[20]

RoboCop received 'Mixed or average reviews' according to Metacritic.^[23] Some reviewers criticized the game's free-to-play aspects.^{[24][21][25][19]} Slide to Play, while praising the game's cover system, was critical of 'some of the most aggressive attempts at monetization that we've seen yet,' stating that the game's 'best weapons are enormously expensive, and some premium weapons cost over $100 in in-app purchases.' However, Slide to Play stated that the game was fun by focusing on its progression and action while ignoring the microtransactions.^[21]TouchArcade wrote that the game 'suffers greatly' from the free-to-play elements, but praised the gameplay, graphics, sounds, and controls, stating that 'It's probably one of the more competent Robocop games ever made, actually.'^[19] Pete Davison of USgamer called it a 'technically impressive but shallow, derivative, money-hungry waste of time,' stating that, 'Being a freemium mobile game, Robocop comes with all the annoyances we've come to expect.'^[24] Steven Burns of VideoGamer.com considered the game to be boring and repetitive, while stating that the free-to-play aspect 'negatively affects what little gameplay is there'.^[25]

Peter Willington of Pocket Gamer praised the game as 'quick to understand, and simple to play,' but criticized it as repetitive, ultimately calling it 'competent but forgettable'.^[26] Alex de Vore of Gamezebo praised the graphics but criticized the 'Boring, needless dialog' and the 'utterly forgettable' music, and concluded, 'Everything from the boring shooting to the lack of any real control just reeks of a rush job.'^[27]IGN called the game 'formulaic and forgettable'.^[28]

References[edit]

1. ^'Robocop'. The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
2. ^http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-19-the-making-of-robocop
3. ^Harris, Craig (June 18, 1999). 'Titus Snags Robocop'. IGN. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
4. ^'E3: Robocop Hands-on'. IGN. May 18, 2001. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
5. ^Strohm, Axel (June 5, 2001). 'First look: Robocop GBA'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
6. ^Harris, Craig (June 27, 2001). 'Robocop'. IGN. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
7. ^'Robocop (GBC)'. GameFAQs. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
8. ^'Robocop (GBC)'. MobyGames. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
9. ^'Robocop comes to GBA'. Eurogamer. May 8, 2002. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
10. ^'Robocop (GBA)'. GameFAQs. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
11. ^'RoboCop Rebooted'. IGN. March 2, 2004. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
12. ^'RoboCop for Xbox Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
13. ^ ^ab'Digital Bridges' MGM Slate'. IGN. May 17, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
14. ^ ^ab'RoboCop'. IGN. July 30, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
15. ^ ^abBuchanan, Levi (December 3, 2004). 'RoboCop: Digital Bridges' 80s actioner thanks you for your cooperation'. IGN. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
16. ^'CTIA 2004: dbi Releases MGM Duo'. IGN. October 25, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
17. ^ ^abcSarkar, Samit (January 8, 2014). 'Free-to-play RoboCop movie tie-in game now available on iOS'. Polygon. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
18. ^ ^abFahey, Mike (January 9, 2014). 'They Made A RoboCop Game Out Of Deer Hunter, And It's Not Bad'. Kotaku. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
19. ^ ^abcMusgrave, Shaun (January 21, 2014). ''Robocop' Review – Dead Or Alive, You're Buying IAP'. TouchArcade. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
20. ^ ^abFahey, Mike (January 7, 2014). 'It's About Time We Got A New RoboCop Video Game'. Kotaku. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
21. ^ ^abc'RoboCop'. Slide to Play. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
22. ^Brown, Mark (October 28, 2013). 'RoboCop movie reboot will get a F2P shooter tie-in from Glu'. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
23. ^'RoboCop'. Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
24. ^ ^abDavison, Pete (January 8, 2014). 'There's a New Robocop Game'. USgamer. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
25. ^ ^abBurns, Steven (January 21, 2014). 'RoboCop (2014) Review'. VideoGamer.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
26. ^Willington, Peter (January 17, 2014). 'RoboCop: A man made of meh-tal'. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
27. ^de Vore, Alex (January 10, 2014). 'RoboCop Review'. Gamezebo. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
28. ^Reilly, Luke (April 9, 2014). 'Glu to Create Free-to-Play James Bond Game for Mobile'. IGN. Retrieved September 20, 2018.

Robocop Arcade Game

External links[edit]

Robocop Pc Game Download

• List of RoboCop video games at the Killer List of Videogames
• Robocop at CPC Zone
• Robocop Games Information on several games in the franchise.
• RoboCop 2 at MobyGames