The 1980's were a golden time for many of the most iconic action franchises in cinema. Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, The Terminator, and Beverly Hills Cop graced the silver screen in this decade, cementing it as one of the most memorable for the genre. One such film was RoboCop, which remains one of the most influential and entertaining sci-fi action romps of the period, spawning an entire series and going on to influence other movies - as well as video game adaptations like RoboCop: Rogue City.
While news for the franchise was quiet for some time, fans are having their patience rewarded very soon with Rogue City, a brand new game inspired by the film will be hitting consoles and PC sometime in 2023. Outside of a recent teaser trailer for the game, little is known about what the project will ultimately shape up to be. However, in order to appease fans and generally make a solid action game, there are a few key aspects about the material that developers should look to if they want to make RoboCop: Rogue City a great experience.
RoboCop - Prime Directives
Created by the fictional company known as OCP as a response to rising crime, RoboCop is designed to wage war on crime. His bulletproof armor, enhanced cybernetic abilities, and brutally overpowered handgun make him more than up to whatever challenge comes his way. Being a machine programmed to serve a particular purpose, however, RoboCop operates from a specific set of rules and restrictions in order to get the job done. As first demonstrated in the 1987 RoboCop film, these Prime Directives are: Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law.
A fun spin to the gameplay would be to literally incorporate these directives into how the player is meant to approach the world and situations around them. RoboCop is a police officer, so for RoboCop: Rogue City to permit the player to go absolutely wild like the chaotic action in Doom Eternal wouldn't really fit the theme. Perhaps allowing gamers to do actual investigation work at crime scenes like in the Batman: Arkham series, as well as having multiple options to approach a scenario like in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, would create the blueprint for a solid game. When the going does get tough, RoboCop has his gun, and it is a must that the developers make it a satisfying weapon to use.
RoboCop - City in Turmoil
What would be the purpose of such in-depth mechanics and satisfying gunplay if the world was lifeless and boring to explore. The crime-ridden Detroit as depicted in the original RoboCop films is by no means a nice place, with robbery, murder, and other horrific events happening on a daily basis. Nothing has been confirmed in terms of gameplay, but opting for an open-world experience where anything can happen at any point may be the safest bet. Similar to the random crimes in Marvel's Spider-Man, players can be navigating the streets with multiple crimes happening at once, needing to weight options for what order to progress.
Additionally, similar to the open worlds in the Far Cry series, this should be a world that comes for the player as much as the player pursues targets. Detroit in the RoboCop universe isn't a great place to be, with danger being a persistent issue. Perhaps players could be cruising down a street on the way to a robbery, when a group of thugs appear and attack RoboCop's vehicles. This can create a sense of immersion and not knowing what to expect, always leaving gamers ready for action in a futuristic dystopia.
RoboCop: Rogue City launches in 2023 for PC and consoles.