I’ve often wondered how I would react if I were suddenly placed in an inescapable battle arena with hordes of evil robots attempting to tear me apart limb from limb. In Robot Tsunami by Ground Up Games, I’ve been given the opportunity to find out what that might actually look like. For the record, I didn’t fare too badly during the first couple of enemy waves. Eventually they got to me, but if it were real life I’d still be fighting.
Okay, all kidding aside, I must say that I really enjoyed playing Robot Tsunami. The game has a formula that's very familiar in the mobile shooter genre, but spiced up with cool battle arenas, a ton of weapons, interesting enemies and great graphics. Once I got past the short tutorial, which is a welcome inclusion, it wasn’t long before I was hooked on the fast-paced action.
Robot Tsunami puts the player in a battle arena and equips them with a fully-automatic assault rifle. After a short countdown, the arena begins to fill with robots with varying abilities, weaknesses and strengths. The area becomes littered with items like weapon upgrades and health packs. Learning to navigate each map is key to finding success in your attempt to take down every last killer robot. Becoming comfortable with switching out weapons like rocket launchers and a laser beam guns while strategizing how you deploy gun turrets, decoys, and fences, will keep your fingers busy throughout the game.
The game utilizes touch controls that are standard for today’s mobile action games: the directional joystick floats on the left and the aim and shoot joystick floats on the right. Between the two, the player also has the ability to swipe left and right to adjust the camera. I found this useful since the camera tends to adjust itself automatically in an attempt to give the player the best view of the action. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always get it right, and a manual adjustment is needed. There is an option to turn the auto adjusting camera off completely, so make note of that if the camera seems troublesome.
Like I stated before, Robot Tsunami utilizes a proven formula when it comes to gameplay. Taking down wave after wave of enemies is both fun and very addicting. The mindless chaos is easy to get lost in. Where this game shines, though, is its presentation quality. Its graphics are both interesting and breathtaking, and the game runs incredibly smoothly on both the iPhone and iPad. The music gets the heart pumping and the sound effects are well placed. Originality isn’t oozing from Robot Tsunami, but the game is a very polished and refined shooter that's worthy of your time.
The Wrap-up:
The Good: Robot Tsunami capitalizes on an addictive and proven play style that's easy to get lost in. The graphics and music are fantastic and help the game to stand out.
The Bad: The self-adjusting camera can be wonky at times, causing a bit of frustration during critical moments in an encounter.
The Verdict: Who doesn’t like destroying wave after wave of evil robots? If you’ve been looking for the next great mobile shooter, you need to check out Robot Tsunami. The game is available for download in the App Store for $4.99. The price point may have you wondering if the purchase is a good idea, but it's worth noting that there are no in-app purchases and that you are getting an entirely complete game. Check out Robot Tsunami and let us know what you think in the comments down below!
