As most older games, RobotzDX does not have much of a story. If you really care to know it, though, the developer included a handy cheesy story in the readme to elicit a few laughs. Since the story in-game is nonexistent, we'll start off with the presentation. The art is excellent, and it uses a 16-bit color palette with clear, well-designed sprites. The animations are minimal, but the ones that are there are fantastic. We especially like the oddly phallic animation of the shield generator, which rises and falls with disturbing regularity. The sounds are utilitarian, which is nice in such a focused game, and the chiptune music suits both the graphics and gameplay perfectly. It's a throwback to old times more than almost any other game we have featured before, and that's a good thing. This simplicity helps keep what might be overwhelming down to a minimum, as the player is not distracted by high resolution graphics or irritating music.

The basic gameplay of RobotzDX is very simple. You have one goal, which must be performed within 60 seconds: destroy all of the enemies on a stage. It's how the game handles this goal that it begins to get complicated. The biggest obstacle to clearing a level, and the very first type of object to destroy for the aspiring robot hunter, are the shield generators. These make all robots (although not drones or spawners) completely invincible and take five shots to destroy.. Because of this, the game is equal parts puzzle and action game. Luring robots around so that you can get to the generators is incredibly important, considering the fact that everything except the level layout is determined randomly.

As a soldier, you are equipped with a standard gun. You can shoot five bullets at once, and you regenerate bullets shortly (less than a second) after they hit their target. There are a few different types of enemies to gun down, each of which presents their own unique challenge to the player. Keep in mind that if an enemy touches or shoots the player, that's it. The player loses a life.

• The daleks, which move one square towards the player every two seconds. These enemies will always fire at the player's current position. However, they can only fire in the eight cardinal directions, which means they have large blind spots in case there is no cover. While the daleks are relatively consistent, the black and red daleks are unique in how they fire. Red Daleks fire in every direction at once (well, in two four-direction pulses), while black daleks fire three shots.
• Random daleks, which move erratically. Certain colors of random daleks favor different rotations (clockwise or counterclockwise). They are a total pain to hunt down, and there are red ones that behave just like the normal red daleks. Since they fire at random times, and don't hunt the player, they are more of a nuisance than an issue.
• Drones and drone spawners. Drones will seek the fastest path to the player, and are great at swarming. The spawners launch them fairly frequently, but it can be blocked by luring any other enemy on top of it. Drones are quite tough thanks to their incredibly fast spawning rate, so it's recommended that you take out any spawners before attacking the normal daleks.

Alongside enemies, you can also gather items and destroy computer banks. These give you points, and if you complete the level by clearing everything, you get more points. Keep in mind, though, that enemies can destroy computer banks as well, robbing you of points that are potentially necessary to your continued survival. While points seem superfluous as they can't be shown off on leaderboards or such, your score is important because it gives you lives. You will chew through lives like crazy, as sometimes the level simply screws you over with incredibly negative enemy placement. Thankfully, the 1UP threshold is low, so if you are clearing every room every time, you are likely to get one (or more!) 1UPs per room.

RobotzDX is not without its issues. The relative lack of enemy variety turns it into an interesting puzzle game, but we still would've liked to see more baddies, such as turrets or dalek spawners. The procedural placement system makes every playthrough unique, but it can also screw over the player through no fault of their own. This becomes more problematic when you reach the random stages, as they are completely random and thus not even bound by balanced level geometry. There is also no level editor, which is an major disappointment for such an action-packed, puzzle-like game. These issues are excusable, though, as the game is incredibly fun on its own and it is the developer's first game with Game Maker.

Despite a few nagging issues, RobotzDX manages to be much, much better than the game it was based on. The tightly focused gameplay, polished mechanics, and intelligent design make it a treat to play. The presentation also hammers on those nostalgia buttons like nothing else, and we sure are suckers for nostalgia! You can download RobotzDX from the developer's website. We highly suggest that you read the manual (readme) in the game folder before starting play, as it explains the game well and gives some excellent tips to help with your survival.

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