Head Games: Robocop Versus Terminator

Imagine the ultimate battle between the two most powerful machines Hollywood has ever spawned from their deepest, darkest, and grittiest assembly line. Thankfully (and I stress thankfully) no Hollywood producers ever got their filthy hands on those badass machines to make some terrible movie (think Alien vs. Predator) that would have ruined the franchise in its early, 1980’s glory.

But luckily Sega did get their hands on them! And in honor of the upcoming Robocop remake, being released in theaters this week, I present to you this nostalgic trip down video game glory.

The year was 1993. Virgin Games was generally an unheard of game publisher but they were about to drop a bombshell… a game entitled Robocop vs. Terminator. Loosely based on Dark Horse’s comic mini-series released the year prior this title has, to this day, maintained a high ranking on my list of personal all time favorite video games. You play the infamous protagonist Alex Murphy (Robocop) who fights his way against a slew of different kinds of enemy Terminators through streets and alleys, offices and buildings to eventually take down Skynet and save the world from impending doom.

Sure, this might sound like a slightly generic plot that could have been part of any game from the 90s but keep in mind this was still just the 16-bit era of gaming and there was only so much story they could tell with these platforms. I must say, though, they executed this game very well. It’s a side scroller, very much like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and those type of classics, but the creators definitely added some nifty new stuff to Robocop vs Terminator that made it so much cooler like secret levels, vertical maps and a ton of weapons.

Gameplay is tricky overall, but better than most other side scrollers of the time. In the other two games mentioned above, my biggest frustration when playing was the slower capability of controlling the characters. For instance, in Streets of Rage I would find myself consistently struggling to attack certain enemies or getting my character out of harm’s way. In Robocop vs Terminator, however, your character is much faster and you have more control of where his weapon can aim (you have a 360 degree shooting radius), more ammo, health, and supplies provided to make the challenge of the game more enjoyable and the missions more achievable.

Being a massive fan of both franchises (ONLY the first two Terminators, of course) I can still remember acquiring this gem when my first band did a small tour up in Maine. It was hiding in a stack of old Sega games in a vintage comic book store and once I laid eyes on it, I knew I had to have it. Ever since then it has single handedly been one of my favorite purchases… ever.