Return of the Bots

Long before the advent of save points or app-switching, most games had to be tackled in one long run.

Death meant death and the dreaded appearance of the words 'GAME OVER' resulted in you being dumped back at the title screen with a slot on the scoreboard your only trophy.

While Return of the Bots splits its levels into more manageable morsels than such games of old, it does sport a similar level of intensity. This is a twin-stick shooter where the fear of failure hangs heavy and the difference between victory and failure is slight.

The concept behind Return of the Bots is either simple or mundane. Using one thumbstick to drive and the other to aim your weapon, you guide a robot through stages split by gates, shooting at anything that moves.

The idea is to shoot down a series of chips – static targets equipped with a certain level of defensive capability - in order to unlock the path ahead before finally taking on a boss. The challenge comes not from finding the chips, though: the game handily points each one out with blue arrows that decorate the floor below.

Instead, the question is whether you can survive long enough to take them out in the first place.

The game's difficulty has nothing to do with control. For starters, the pace of play is slow enough to ensure your thumbs never get caught up on the screen. Your robot's movement is smooth and responsive, too – there's never a feeling that your fate is out of your hands.

The game's levels – which, though basically 2D in nature – are populated by what appear to be cast offs from Robot Wars, steaming towards you from all sides.

This forces you to split your firepower between taking down the chips and defending against encroaching enemies. Attempting to make your way without doing the latter is a thankless task indeed. Likewise, killing each and every target offers little respite: enemies spawn continuously until the gate opens.

This means that, whether you're a quick shot or bullet shy, the chances of dying before you reach the end of a level are fairly even. It's possible to boost your health as you go by shooting down what appear to be giant gas canisters, and upgrades to your weapons that increase both its range and rate of fire are also available.

Upsetting this fine balance is the game's inescapably repetitive nature. Its narrow, focused approach becomes monotonous with the same model stretched out over 11 whole episodes.

Although the design of the levels varies from one set to another, the process of constantly shifting your position to defend as you simultaneously attack remains the same throughout, and your motivation to replay the stage once your life has been drained soon fades away.

It's a hurdle Return of the Bots could only overcome if its bulk was broken up in some manner. It doesn't matter whether it takes the form of either a bonus level or two, or a greater array of power-ups that fundamentally alter the balance of power, if only briefly.

There just needs to be some way to bring a temporary halt to what is otherwise plays out like a broken record. As such, Return of the Bots needs to be taken in short bursts.