Robo Rampage is an action shooter that takes a while to ramp up, but rewards players who have patience with an intense experience if they stick it out. For reasons that are never discussed, players will travel to Planet Junk in order to engage scary yet adorable robots in mortal combat. Fear not, you'll have a RoboMe to blast down your mechanical opponents as you strive to build the tallest "Kill Hill". That... doesn't get explained either but that's fine by me. As robots start pouring across the skies and meandering across the junkyard horizon, you won't have time for a story.

The control mechanics behind Robo Rampage are elegantly simple. Movement is dictated by the [WASD] keys while the mouse is used to both shoot and aim. Weapons are selected via the mouse wheel or the [Q] and [E] keys. Like any other good shooter, Robo Rampage gives you a decent array of power-ups and weapons to play with that periodically fall from the sky, but since power-ups to a particular weapon have finite ammunition, you might want to conserve your favourites for boss fights or certain baddies.

While I'm all for the addictive pleasure that lies behind the act of robot genocide, what really got to me about Robo Rampage was the gimmick that they built into it. With every robot that you kill, their bodies will be added to your Kill Hill. It's not really noticeable at first but eventually, you'll find that you'd really prefer a flat piece of land as you attempt to maneuver about during the boss fights and as enemies swarm the bumpy terrain. Of course, I'm a traditionalist; you could play it differently and give yourself vantage points and ravines to work with.

The graphical presentation is excellent, the music is fine and the sound effects and voice acting complements the game perfectly. There's something strangely rewarding about playing a game that somehow manages to combine almost Tetris-like elements with your standard action fare. The only real complaint I have about Robo Rampage is it takes too darn long to get interesting. However, if you're willing to wait, there's a definite gem here to indulge in as you engage in today's coffee break.

Play Robo Rampage