Shoot Many Robots (XBLA): "It's Rated 'M' For A Reason ..."

I don't think I've ever seen a game quite like "Shoot Many Robots". This 4 player co-op run-n-gun RPG (as described in the press release) is brought to us by 'Demiurge Studios (Borderlands, Brothers In Arms, Mass Effect)', and Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed, I AM ALIVE ...)'. Both game studios/pubishers have helped develop some pretty impressive games in the past. This game (Shoot Many Robots) in particular features an art style that most 'Borderlands' fans will recognize. While it's similar to 'Borderlands' in some minor ways it definitely stands on it's own. In my career as a gamer I've rarely seen any game developer/publisher push the envelope of the 'M' rating like 'Demiurge Studios/Ubisoft' has. When you start up the game you'll immediately notice the larger than life ESRB rating on the screen. It lets you know that you are about to experience a "Mature" game, and let me tell you this couldn't be more accurate. The fact that the ESRB notice includes warnings about sexual content, strong language, and the use of alcohol should make this fact perfectly clear. I ended up spending a good amount of time playing the game, and noticed a lot of "things" that I'll discuss in the paragraphs that follow. Prepare yourselves, cause this could get ugly ...

'Shoot Many Robots' tells the tale of a rather odd gentleman named 'P. ('Pickles') Walter Tugnut'. Walter (As I'm going to refer to him) has a thing against robots. In fact he is prepped, and ready for the robot apocalypse. It seems he has stockpiled all kinds of goodies in his rundown RV including weapons, and booze. After he discovers that a nearby factory is mass-producing robots at will he decides to go on a murderous rampage, and rid the world of this mechanized threat. You can rest assured that there will be lots of robotic bits, and pieces strewn about after Walter is through.

There are two main parts to 'Shoot Many Robots'. You can experience the game in a single/2-player local campaign, or you can join others online in a 4-player co-op experience. Which ever way you choose to go about it you'll need to know what you're getting yourself into. This is explained fairly well through an introductory level/stage. Shoot Many Robots (for lack of a better description) is basically an action platformer with RPG elements. You take on the role of 'Walter' as he drives his RV from location to location taking out waves of robotic enemies, and even some huge bosses. At your disposal you have a weapons that you can buy from a shop that is conveniently located within the shower inside your RV. As you level up Walter by murdering robots you'll gain nuts from the fallen mechanical menaces which can be used to buy weapons, and equipment (guns, hats, pants ...) from the shop. Since this game does have RPG elements you'll notice that the weapons/equipment that are available for purchase are level specific. In other words you'll have to rank up Walter to a certain level in order to be able to equip certain items.

Walter can carry two different weapons during gameplay. His standard weapon always has an infinite supply of ammo while his alternate weapon is more powerful, and has a limited supply. The shop offers hundreds of different weapons, and clothing articles that alter Walter's attributes. Some equipment will effect things like speed, health recovery, or even special abilities (sliding, ground slam, gravity ...). All of the attributes of any item are measured in percentages allowing the player to choose the weapons, or items that best suit their preferred style of gameplay. As you rank/level up you will be able to use the more powerful weapons/items. I should also mention that most of the weapons/items are "Undiscovered" until you open hidden chests that are located throughout the game's stages.

There are a variety of different features in "Shoot Many Robots". You'll find that the game's HUD (display) keeps track of combos (via the combo meter), your level rating (up to 5 stars), and your friend's latest record for each level. The levels within 'Shoot Many Robots' are divided into a set number of stages that must be completed in order to unlock more areas on Walter's map (via the RV). At the end of each stage you complete you will receive a summary of that stage that shows what star rank you got, and how many nuts you collected. Within 'Shoot Many Robots' there are two stage types that you'll encounter. One of those is the mission type in which you must get Walter to the end of the stage alive. Along the way you'll encounter check points (flags), and supply depots that restore Walter's ammo & beer (health refills). The other type of stage is 'survival'. The goal of this stage type is to simply survive as long as you can. Once you make it to the bonus waves of enemies it doesn't matter if Walter's dies. You will not have to restart the level if you do lose Walter in the process of trying to survive.

I played both the single player, and the co-op in 'Shoot Many Robots'. I can assure you that if you want to tackle this game by yourself it is possible. With that being said there are more benefits playing the co-op than there are going at it alone. I know your probably curious as to how the online co-op is. I actually found the online multiplayer to be very solid in structure. I experienced no lag, but there was a drop in sound quality as I continued to play with the two other players who I joined. This could be a connection conflict issue, but I'm not 100% sure. I really enjoyed the online co-op it was fun, and gave me the opportunity to rack up a ridiculous amount of nuts. This is one of the pluses I was talking about. You can definitely earn more nuts in online co-op.

I'm going to do something a little unorthodox, and talk about some things I noticed in the game within this paragraph. I began to realize that there were some parody related shop items in 'Shoot Many Robots'. The one item I just had to have was the "Howdy Weasel (Hello Kitty reference ^.^)" pink back pack. It was too funny not to pass up, plus it had some pretty sweet attributes. Another thing I noticed was that there were a few naughty items within the shop. One such item was a piece of head gear called "Fruit F****r". I'm seriously not making this up. The "Fruit F****r" is a robot that literally humps your head as you play. Even the description of that item was a little over-the-top. The thing that stood out to me the most about 'Shoot Many Robots' was that this game seemed to be heavy on the gay/sexual content. In fact a lot of Walter's shop clothing was feminine in nature. I could see where gays may think this is poking fun at them. These are also a major reasons as to why I think the game received the "Mature" rating. I'll probably catch heck for mentioning those things, but I assure you I have nothing against gays. In fact I have some gay friends. The reason I brought it to your attention was that I felt it needed to be addressed.

The controls in 'Shoot Many Robots' are fairly easy to pick up on, and very functional when it comes to gameplay. You will use the (Left Thumbstick) for movement, and aiming. To fire your weapon you'll use the (X) button. To switch between the two available weapons you'' press the (Y) button. You can also perform a melee attack via the (B) button. Since the game is part platformer you will use the (A) button for jumping. The (Left Bumper) is used to revive players in co-op. (Left trigger) can be used for stationary aiming, or the jet pack function. (Right Bumper) allows Walter to chug his beer for a quick health refill. (Right Trigger) is used for the slide function.

I mentioned earlier that 'Shoot Many Robots' had an art style similar to that of 'Borderlands'. The art style definitely looks the same, and it's not really surprising seeing that 'Demiurge Studios' was the developer behind this game. As you play 'Shoot Many Robots' you'll notice the multi-layered stages with animations happening in the background. I would say that the game has a sort of 3D look to it, and often times you'll even see pieces of robots flying towards the screen. Overall the graphics were pretty sold. I did notice a somewhat pixelated appearance to Walter in the RV, but it's nothing to get worried over. As far as the sound goes it's okay. It definitely has a lot of special effect sounds going on, and you'll hear Walter grunt a lot as he gets attacked. The only issue I noticed with the sound was that it seemed to lower in quality when I was online. Other than that I can't complain.

Now it's time to give you my verdict. I enjoyed 'Shoot Many Robots' for the most part. The gameplay was solid, and fun. The online co-op was thoroughly enjoyable. I experienced no lag when playing online with random players which was definitely a plus. The single player experience wasn't bad either. Where the game becomes questionable is the DLC, and the "Mature" content. First off there is DLC. As a lot of you know I'm not a fan of DLC that doesn't amount to something, or DLC that offers content that I feel should have been free in the first place. Unfortunately 'Shoot Many robots' is a game that will have you paying for certain/rare in-game items. This wouldn't be so bad, but the online co-op doesn't have that great of a replay value. To be totally honest you will "eventually" tire of playing this game. If Demiurge Studios would have included an online co-op mode with more replay value then I could possibly see wanting the extra special weapon, or item.

As far as the "Mature" content goes it could be said that 'Demiurge Studios' may have went a little overboard with the sexual content. It does seem to be mocking a lot of things (comic books, merchandise ...), and unfortunately gay themes seem to be a part of that. I honestly would have loved to have seen a female character in the game. Some manly items would have been a welcome addition as well. This way the game could be enjoyed by a more diverse group of gamers. I'm not homophobic by any means, but to gear a game towards a specific audience is setting up to fail. I realize I'll likely catch heck for this review, but I'm being honest. In the end whether or not this game is to your liking will greatly depend on your toleration of the mature themes that are included.