A grim day for robot kind...but we could always build more killbots...

May 30, 2008 2:07 PM

Fearless Fightin' Flash Fun for Friday: Robokill is a demo that recalls the overhead action of SMASH TV - though this time, you're placed in the metal shoes of a lowly salvage bot, sent to decimate your mechanical brethren who commandeered an orbital outpost. As you clear the halls for the benefit of some lazy humans, you can trade supplies and armaments with an alien merchant who mistakes you for one of Earth's fleshbags. It's a thankless job, sure, but you're supposed to be a remorseless machine...[via]
posted by Smart Dalek (32 comments total)

Just saw this on JIG last night too - it's really good. I was going back pre-Smash TV to Robotron for my analog, but both are entirely apt. Just enough old school and just enough new to destroy productivity.
posted by freebird at 2:24 PM on May 30, 2008

but you're supposed to be a remorseless machine...

Eponysterical!
posted by ShawnStruck at 2:34 PM on May 30, 2008

What's with the screwy navigation? 90% of the time the movement keys don't work at all.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 2:35 PM on May 30, 2008

I contemplated posting this when I saw it earlier. It's really very, very polished for a flash game. It's not without it's flaws, but they seem pretty responsive to feedback.
posted by juv3nal at 2:46 PM on May 30, 2008

Very cool. I suck at it, but it looks like fun.
posted by never used baby shoes at 2:59 PM on May 30, 2008

I've been playing this for a few days, it gets more fun as the game goes on. On level 3 I started getting weapons with knockback, freeze, etc. Fun switching them in.

Dispomaniac; sounds like maybe your window is losing focus when you move the mouse, maybe click? Don't need to click to shoot. Works well for me in Firefox 3 / Windows.
posted by Nelson at 2:59 PM on May 30, 2008

Is it Llamatron good?
posted by Artw at 3:03 PM on May 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

wow, that's a ton of fun. I hate it when these games have some crappy house music for the title screen, though. what the fuck. virtually everyone I know is a gamer and none of them listen to that crap, and the few people I've met who are into that music don't game. I don't know where the fucking glitch happened that devs all decided we wanted to hear that shit just before a game, but we don't.

please stop putting house music in your games. thank you.
posted by shmegegge at 3:09 PM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Nifty game, thanks SD. I think the Smash TV analogy is more apt, what with the powerups etc, but of course Smash TV owes a lot to Robotron. I always liked those dual joystick games, I sucked at Robotron, sucked hard. But I did almost beat Smash TV once, ran out of quarters as the host was just about to die.
posted by sotonohito at 3:15 PM on May 30, 2008

Ploughed through he first mission - it's okay, but seems more grindy than offering an actual challenge.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:24 PM on May 30, 2008

This game is worthless (to me) without gamepad support for dual analog sticks. Robotron had 2 sticks. Smash TV had 2 sticks. Between me, the developer, and Adobe, someone sucks.
posted by BeerFilter at 3:28 PM on May 30, 2008

I like games and was a house music dj, mr shmegegge.

And all of the game devs that I know, I know through the electronic music "scene", as it were.

Just to screw up your data points.
posted by flaterik at 3:36 PM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

Take that, grandad!
posted by Artw at 3:38 PM on May 30, 2008

what the fuck. virtually everyone I know is a gamer and none of them listen to that crap, and the few people I've met who are into that music don't game.

In general, electronic music = spacy/futuristic. Uptempo electronic music = spacy/futuristic action.

It's the easy choice to make. Not to say they couldn't have done something else, but it shouldn't be surprising that it happens a lot. Just like orchestral stuff is the default for epic fantasy games, you gets the electronic stuff for the science fiction games.
posted by juv3nal at 3:42 PM on May 30, 2008

And yeah, as another data point, I game & listen to some electronic music.
Speaking of which, gaming and electronic music have some close ties if you look at the demo scene.
posted by juv3nal at 3:52 PM on May 30, 2008

This game is great. Though I haven't purchased the full version, I've devoured the free levels. It'll be worth the $10 just for the continued reminiscing about Smash TV.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 4:07 PM on May 30, 2008

It does become somewhat grindy, as noted above. Even I, with my subpar reflexes and shitty hand-eye coordination, was able to get up to Mission 3 fairly quickly. That's ok - I like grindy games in general. However, they might want to increase the penalty for dying somewhat - right now, as far as I can tell, the only penalty is the occassional retaking of a room by the robots.
posted by never used baby shoes at 4:15 PM on May 30, 2008

Like all flash games, requires way, way, way more hardware than it ought. It absolutely crushes this iBook, click inputs are about a half-second delayed. Still managed to beat the first mission but its just not fun fighting the game and the enemies.

Again I say: someone make a DS homebrew version of this and I'll buy it.
posted by Skorgu at 4:16 PM on May 30, 2008

Great game. What a time suck.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 5:09 PM on May 30, 2008

I saw this somewhere, glad to see others enjoyed it. Absolutely top shelf.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:42 PM on May 30, 2008

Metafilter: Also, Robotron.
posted by ooga_booga at 9:58 PM on May 30, 2008

Yeah.. gamer here too, also heavily into electronic music. PS, that's not house.

Fun game though.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:54 PM on May 30, 2008

WELCOME TO MY SHOP PITIFUL HUMAN.
posted by WalterMitty at 3:04 AM on May 31, 2008

It absolutely crushes this iBook, click inputs are about a half-second delayed.

I can empathise. I do remember reading Flash apps in general get a performance hit on Macs though.
posted by WalterMitty at 3:05 AM on May 31, 2008

I suprised myself by actually buying this game. $10 is cheap, it was fun, and I had this Light Laser I'd gotten and was really curious what it'd do. Episode 2 is pretty much like episode 1, no major changes. Simple fun.
posted by Nelson at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2008

I'm a gamer and I like electronic music, but I don't like house music very much. I don't think that's anywhere close to house.

Macs aren't for gaming yet. Nor are shitty ibm laptops. This game apears to be very difficult to play with a trackpad.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:52 AM on May 31, 2008

I went through thoroughly, but destroying the generators quickly. (Which points out to me that Gauntlet comes to mind too.) For more money & power levels, you might just want to let those spawn until they run out completely. I finished it at around power level 13, I think? But I had a couple of weapons (heavy grenade, I think, & laser) that I didn't get to use.

I just spent hours on this, & enjoyed it thoroughly. I'll probably buy this when I have more time to kill.
posted by Pronoiac at 3:45 PM on May 31, 2008

(It is not Llamatron good. Fun though)
posted by Artw at 11:39 PM on May 31, 2008

Very cool. I will definitely try it again sometime when I'm not using a laptop trackpad. Leaving the mouse pointer in a neutral spot and attempting to interpose it between me and my enemies was just one element too many.

And what was it about Smash TV anyway?
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 1:37 AM on June 1, 2008

fwiw, I too listen to electronic music, but not shit like that. you show me a game with amon tobin in it (hi, splinter cell!) and I'm a happy dude. I'm just saying the music for that game sucks. And while I can understand the spacey/futuristic action idea behind putting that music in, I'll happily point out that the best and most thrilling spacey futuristic actin/horror movies do not have music of that variety in them. I'm inclined to think that it's a holdover from when the music for games pretty much always sounded electronic because of console hardware, but i'm guessing.
posted by shmegegge at 9:00 AM on June 2, 2008

I do not like the falling-off-the-edge bits one bit.
posted by Artw at 9:08 AM on June 2, 2008

I don't know as it lives up to the Smash TV standard. The mouse-as-aiming makes the game wayyy easier than the D-Pad. Spiffy graphics, and the Shop (+ rare/uncommon items) were nifty features though.
posted by tybeet at 11:36 AM on June 2, 2008