Producer: Atlantis Software Ltd
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £1.99
Language: Machine code
Author: Simon P. Ralfe

Another budget-priced game from Atlantis for those with a quick hand and fast eyes. Your object is to help Rory Robot stop the rebel robots from gaining control of a complex. To do this you need to collect all the power gems from the various rooms in the game and escape to the next room. Each screen is composed of five platforms of varying lengths and each positioned differently. In each platform are two power gems which can be collected. Between the platforms enemy robots sail along at speed, bouncing back and forth. Rory starts 'off at the bottom (the only safe spot) and the idea is to nip up and run over the power gems then get out of the way of the other robots. When gems are collected, the resulting hole left in the platform can be used to get up higher, although it is always possible to nip up the edges of the screen round the ends of the platforms as well. When all the gems on a screen have been collected an exit appears at the bottom of the screen for Rory to leave by.

Each room has a different layout of platforms and each time you play a game the screens are randomly altered. By room 15 the rebels are getting angrier and life becomes more difficult.

COMMENTS

Control keys: O/P left/right, Q/Z up/down
Joystick: Kempston
Keyboard play: sensible positions, a little finicky on movement of Rory
Use of colour: average
Graphics: average, but quite fast
Sound: simple with some tunes
Skill levels: 1
Lives: 4

Robot Rumpus is a fairly fast moving game which is relatively playable. I enjoyed the game for a while but its overall objective and the general repetitiveness made it rather unexciting. it's a good budget game but lacking in variation.

Budget games are of necessity fairly simple both in content and graphical appearance; the important thing is whether at the end of the day they are worth the money, and I would say that Robot Rumpus is well worth the 2 quid. It does have the constructional look of a rather old BASIC-type game, and there is no variation on the playing theme. On the other hand it is fast and quite difficult, relying on quick responses and accurate key or joystick control to beat the enemy robots. Once you get the hang of it, a certain addictiveness creeps in because you keep wanting to beat the next screen. I must say I enjoyed it, although 1 would think younger players would find it more appealing in the long run than the general arcade freak.

This game is very original, I can't say I've seen anything like it before except perhaps a slight resemblance to Factory Breakout. The graphics in this game are quite cute in the sense that they are different and very imaginative; they're colourful, and cheerful. The game is hard to play at first but this quickly wears off as you get into the swing of it. I found I could complete screen after screen without too much bother. Probably appeals more to the younger player, but quite good value.