CONVERSION CAPERS

HOW THE NUMEROUS VERSIONS OF ROBOCOP COMPARE

ZX SPECTRUM

■ It may be monochrome, but the Spectrum Robocop plays as well as Ocean’s more colourful 8-bit versions. Unlike the C64 iteration, its hero doesn’t jump and its snipers don’t often respawn. Playing the Spectrum 128 version is advised, as it has threechannel music and speech.

AMSTRAD CPC

■ The Amstrad Robocop sounds identical to the Spectrum 128 version, but it uses the system’s low-res mode, so it’s a lot more colourful. Its level designs are exactly like those in the Spectrum Robocop, meaning it has side-on firefights interspersed with 3D and puzzle stages.

MSX

■ If not for a few failings in the audio department, the MSX Robocop would be a mirror image of the Spectrum

128 game. There’s no speech pregame or between stages, which is forgivable, but it’s a shame that the in-game music stops every time that a sound effect is triggered.

C64

■ Similar to the Amstrad version, but with better music, the C64 Robocop differs in that its hero can jump – although this isn’t very useful. It does have a moving ED-209, unlike Ocean’s other 8-bit versions. But you don’t get the huge gun to play with at the end of the game.

GAME BOY

■ Drab colours aside, the Game

Boy Robocop is a better version of Ocean’s 8-bit micro iterations. As well as satisfying sound effects on top of great in-game music, it has foes that run at you and others that throw bombs. It also adapts the coin-op’s shooting-gallery stage.

PC (CGA)

■ Rendered in pink, cyan, black and white, Ocean’s DOS Robocop was never going to win any prizes for its looks. Its lack of music and beepy sound effects do little to impress either. In gameplay terms, it plays just like the Spectrum and MSX versions, which is no bad thing.

AMIGA

■ More like the coin-op than Ocean’s 8-bit games, the Amiga Robocop is arguably the best version that Ocean produced. Its hero starts without his gun, instead using his fists to see off criminals, it incorporates two photo-fit stages, a huge gun and endof-level boss fights.

ATARI ST

■ There’s little between the ST and Amiga versions of Robocop in terms of visuals. The ST game has the same speech samples as the Amiga title too. Where the Atari iteration fails is with its music and sound effects, which pale in comparison to those of its Amiga counterpart.

PC (EGA)

■ Whereas Ocean developed its PC Robocop in four-colour CGA mode, Data East produced its PC offering in 16-colour EGA mode, so it’s a much better-looking game. In gameplay terms, it’s pretty close to the coin-op, except with weak sound effects and appalling chiptune music.

APPLE II

■ An Apple Iie/c title as opposed to one for the original Apple II, this version makes a brave attempt to convert the coin-op to a far less-powerful system. The main concessions are that it’s flick-screen instead of scrolling, and is silent bar for some meagre sound effects.

NES

■ Quite different from the arcade game in some ways, the NES Robocop incorporates elements of the coin-op’s gameplay while introducing completely fresh level designs that have little to do with the movie. It’s slick and frenetic, though, and includes boss fights with ED-209.

TRS-80 COCO

■ A conversion of the NES release, which falls flat partly thanks to the Tandy system’s less impressive visual and audio capabilities. The TRS Robocop’s graphics are not that welldesigned either, but its main issues are its dull in-game music and poorly animated characters.

ARCADE

■ As the version made for the most advanced hardware, Data East’s coin-op is predictably the best of the group. Surprisingly, its side-scrolling stages aren’t nearly as difficult as those in some of the home-computer iterations, but its end-of-level bosses take some beating.