1985 Review

From Computer And Videogames magazine, Issue 42, April 1985, page 92

By Clare Edgeley

ONE IN THE EYE

FOR THE EYE!

Space, the Final Frontier, and the year is Stardate 1984. The year in which I Robot from Atari destroyed the Evil Eye and returned the galaxy to democratic rule.

Determined to rid their planet of this terrible scourge - for the Eye has gained full power and rules their lives mercilessly - the inhabitants band together and choose an unhappy interface robot to lead the fight against Big Brother.

The game rules are simple - no jumping! And that is the only way in which I Robot is ever going to get near enough to assassinate the Eye which glows a demonic red as it casts its gaze over the planets. However, at certain times it changes colour as it blinks or looks away and on these occasions the robot can advance forward by way of the red zones thus destroying the Eye's protective shields.

Once the shields are destroyed, he can go in for the kill. But the Eye has other means of defense and the robot will be assailed by attack waves of beach balls, pyramid mines and, in later levels, space sharks - all of which must be avoided or destroyed.

The robot will find a red pyramid on every third screen which must be entered after the Eye's destruction. Inside is a cache of jewels to collect although there is time for only one attempt. Should the robot die, he will be thrown backwards into a space wave and a life will be lost.

After the Eye has been destroyed, the robot will then be free to travel through space liberating other planets where the process must be repeated, though each attempt increases in difficulty.

Whilst travelling through space, it is possible to gain bonus points from shooting all tetrahedrons and you can also earn an extra life by shooting the individual letters of I ROBOT as they appear in space waves.

Once the game is in play, it is possible to view the terrain at different angles by pressing the start button - a nice touch and one that allows you a bird's eye view of the positioning of the red zones.

The graphics are perhaps the most unusual of any arcade game around - a cubist's delight. Control is by joystick and two fire buttons.

Good luck to all who are courageous enough to fight the Evil Eye. Your life expectancy is short but - oh boy! - the satisfaction on killing the Eye.