When you think of RoboCop, you think of a one-man tank. Heavily armed and armored, a dealer of justice patrols the streets of Detroit, walking very slowly. Honestly, given the way he walks, it’s amazing that he gets to the crime scene on time. It’s even more surprising that the methodical moves of the film’s RoboCop have been adapted for Rogue City, a first-person shooter in a genre traditionally dominated by games where speed and agility are key.
Of course, it was always planned to make it an important part of the game, as RoboCop’s slow and precise movements are two important parts of his identity. However, this meant developers rethinking how to create first-person shooters. “Incorporating that slow, heavy character into the game was one of the biggest design challenges for him,” explains RoboCop: Rogue City game director Piotr Latocha. “He’s a bit slow and tanky, so he has to stay true to the lore, but he can’t be super slow and super heavy either. The biggest challenge was how to make it interesting.”
As such, many of the movements and agility found in other shooters are absent in Rogue City. When you play Robocop for the first time, you have to rethink how you play FPS. “He can’t stealth or crouch,” Latoka says, referring to the limitations of having a main character made primarily of titanium. “But he can also do other cool things with this character, like breaking through walls, throwing heavy enemies, grabbing enemies and throwing them. There’s also a skill tree that unlocks Kano’s skills, some of which are active, and some of which can also be used to enhance gameplay.”
Skill points are earned by completing quests as you progress through the story and by scanning objects scattered throughout Detroit, and can be spent to upgrade RoboCop’s various abilities. Rogue City is a bridge between RoboCop 2 and 3, so RoboCop is already an established member of the Detroit Police Department, with some abilities available from the start. Some were straight from the movies, like aiming down sights to scan and pinpoint the location of nearby enemies, while others were introduced for the game.
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There is an obvious slow motion that slows down time for a few seconds, giving you an advantage when aiming at enemies. There’s also the dash, which gives you a temporary speed boost, but feels like it blends really well with the slower pace of the action. “It’s not running, it’s moving faster,” Latocha says excitedly. “So the sooner you run into them, the more they’ll fall. You can use this to your advantage. They’re not dead, they’re knocked down, but they’re easy to kill.”
There are other abilities as well. “Shockwave basically works like a police flashbang, so you can stun enemies,” explains LaTocha. “But this is the first version of the Shockwave skill. If you upgrade it to the end, it’s deadly. [with the upgraded Shockwave skill], they will fall and die. “
Some of these abilities stray from the original blueprints of the film’s RoboCop, but they don’t feel out of place for the improved Cyborg. One of his elements that is completely true to the movie is RoboCop’s Auto 9 Machine pistol, which he uses throughout the story. It’s a powerful weapon to start with, but there are plenty of upgrades you can unlock as you progress. “That was actually one of the challenges he had, because we wanted players to keep using Auto 9 because it’s his iconic weapon,” says LaTocha. “RoboCop is something you use a lot, so it has to feel fun and powerful. [improve] Auto-9 so you can get stronger and stronger as the game progresses. “
Examples of auto 9 upgrades include reducing recoil for more accuracy, switching from burst fire to full auto, and explosive rounds. But even in its original setup, Auto 9 has a large magazine and infinite ammo, so it lightly hits enemies in the game’s starting levels. But despite its power, there is an element of strategy, as LaTocha explains. “When you run out of ammo, you need to reload. But do you want to reload? Or do you want to run into a guy nearby and punch him?” Once the counter hits zero, it’s a very useful backup.
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As LaTocha continues, alternative weapons may make more sense. [the player] some kind. So there are some sidearms you can use, but you can’t carry them from level to level or chapter to chapter. But you can pick it up and play with it. [are better] in different situations. “
Despite this emphasis on aggressiveness, developer Teyon always wanted RoboCop: Rogue City to be more than just an FPS. “This was actually very important to us, that it was not just a first-person shooter his game, but so much more than that,” he affirms Latocha. “We wanted to build on RPG elements, so dialogue choices, dialogue trees, and those skills really help you solve things in different ways. With psychology, You can persuade someone to do something without violence, and skills like engineering open up dialogue options that can persuade someone not to do something.”
Apparently there’s still a man under the mask, and RoboCop Rogue City requires you to use your brain as much as your index finger. well almost.
Emma Matthews is IGN’s Junior Syndication Editor.
