Yep, today is Robotron:2084 by Vid Kids (aka Eugene Jarvis), published by Williams - arcade release in 1982.
So, this is one of the comes-around/goes-around classics of all videogamedom, I would assume that there aren't many people out there who've still not heard of Robotron but then again - what I don't know often surprises me.
"Save the last human family" - you are a warrior tasked with destroying wave after wave of robot enemies, and protecting/preserving the remaining humans in each level before they are destroyed by the same (killed, or turned into murderous mutants themselves). Each level is a single screen of nonstop mayhem, passed only when the last opponent has been eradicated.
The game utilized a revolutionary control layout - two 8-way joysticks, the left controlling movement and the right controlling aiming for your unlimited firepower. Few (if any) games have since made such a notable, yet simple, modification to a control scheme and been so noteworthy just in that fact.
Robotron is an extremely simple game on paper, in execution it is quite complicated and requires a combination of strict attention to the onscreen action, hyper-charged reflexes, and deft hand-eye coordination to pull off split-second movements in order to avoid death. This is a game that chews players up and spits them out - a small, but devoted, fanbase still proclaims that this is one of the true "videogame tests of champions." I find it hard to disagree!
Make sure to download Headcase Games' original release of iFist while it is still FREE for the holidays!
(iTunes Link Here)
