RobTortureWright

If I'm honest I'm stunned at some of the reviews of this game, on both PC's steam and consoles like the PS5. It has gotten very low ratings which I can only attribute to a buggy launch, however I've put in around 20 hours and I'm really enjoying every minute of it. It's a smooth relaxing game you can play while listening to a podcast or have some music on in the background. Perfect for after those sweaty PVP games or after grinding yet another tough platinum.

Firstly I played on PS5. I started playing after 2 patches had already been released so they may have fixed all of the big issues as I had an almost flawless experience. They also released another patch while I was playing only recently, but tbh I didn't notice any changes whatsoever to AI, mechanics or visuals. A good thing in my opinion. The developers plan to keep updating the game with new character models, taxi paints etc so that's a positive too.

The gameplay is very good, you're given a tutorial of the driving which takes place in a parking lot with a loan car to get the basics of driving, reversing, parking, signalling etc. A very solid start.

Once you begin you have a great sized map to explore, not a massive map but the perfect size to learn the routes and streets. It's also a very good looking map as you see the sights of Barcelona from the narrow streets right down to the beach and waterfront. Aside from driving to pick up regular passengers you can do other tasks such as speed challenges (I'll be honest I was horrible at these) collect graffiti and visit places of interest such as museums or historical buildings. This is great to mix things up so you can take a break from picking people up whenever you want.

I really love the progression in Taxi Life as you work towards getting progressively better cars and hiring new employees to make even more money. There's a lot to spend your money on in terms of cars but also customisation options. From tires, paint jobs, neons, interior colors, brakes, engines, even cool little bobble heads. Lots to choose from for sure.

Visually the game is good, not great. The map of Barcelona itself is beautifully recreated but smaller things like pedestrians are pretty poor and have horrible animations to them. The taxi visuals are superb though and having lots of camera angles to play with makes it really enjoyable. It also features fully working mirrors, something very few games have.

I honestly couldn't think of a better taxi game unless you spent millions adding features like walking around, owning an apartment and customising it etc but that's far beyond what any studio would do for a taxi game.

The one and only negative I have is the pedestrians. As I mentioned the character models are pretty bad but also their animations are pretty awful too. These models are meant as a way to slow you down because if you hit one of them its costly in terms of cash you need to pay out but also you lose any passenger you have regardless of how far you've travelled. They walk straight out in front of cars from the walkways which is fine, but will often just stop moving for a second or so, and even get to the other side then instantly start walking back across again. Very strange AI behaviour that can make you easily hit one of them but if you're driving normally you begin to learn their patterns and can avoid that.

Overall a superb Taxi Simulator that has great driving mechanics, a solid amount of customisation, a great progression system, a beautiful map of Barcelona and is a great laidback game to play, about as good as a taxi game can get in my opinion and well worth checking out as it's far cheaper than most games these days.

Despite the 15+ hours of fun I had, there are clear and obvious flaws with Robocop Rogue City, But from the previous work of this games development studio they've improved leaps and bounds.

I'll try and keep my review as short and concise as possible explaining everything you need to know if you're planning on getting the game, or if you want to know what someone who's beat the entire game feels about Robocop Rogue City. Let's start with story.

Story: 8/10. This is the games strong point. As someone who was born in the early 90's right in between Robocop 2 and 3, I can say I was brought up on Alex Murphy and his tin can. I remember watching at a much younger age than I should have been, but being truly amazed at such a unique and often startling world of Robocops Detroit. Rogue city takes place right in that sweet spot between movies and has all the usual cast of characters who play their part excellently. I especially enjoyed seeing Anne Lewis again in all her bubble popping glory. The main actors do a great job and Peter Weller even reprises his role as Alex Murphy which sounds great in game. I won't spoil any story points but I will say it does a really good job at keeping you immersed in its plot and egging Robocop on to get the bad guy.

Visuals: 5/10. Not great. A weird mashup of modern techniques like raytracing clash with what seems like ancient character models and outdated mechanics, which make a sometimes graphically off putting game. The game starts with an awful cutscene where one particular characters hair was waving about like he was free falling from an airplane, despite being inside a building. Not a good start at all. The worst thing without doubt is the characters mouth movement. It just looks like they should be speaking in a PS3/Xbox 360 game from nearly 20 years ago. The downtown city itself is decent looking especially at night with raytraced reflections in things like pools of water on the ground, but the overall look of the game during the day isn't as good. Cutscenes as mentioned can be jarring and off putting so if you're buying this to test the limits of what your PS5/Series X can do, then this really isn't the game for you.

Performance: 7/10. Solid enough. Weirdly on PS5 the game starts in fidelity/Quality mode, which is by far the worst mode. It feels slow and impacts gameplay because shooting and moving in 30FPS just isn't it in 2024. The performance mode however does a good enough job to try and maintain 60FPS. There are drops in the framerate for sure, especially in certain areas/sections but for the most part it's passable with no major issues.

Gameplay: 8/10. Really fun, slightly repetitive. Shooting is awesome, it feels fluid and responsive, you have a decent amount of guns to swap between, I especially like the mounted guns you can rip from their mount and blast fools away like you're Arnie. There is dashes, flashes and a few more abilities you have your disposal, but by far the best is the slow mo. It's not Max Payne good but come on, who doesn't love a bit of slo mo shooting in your games, it's just plain fun. The movement is limited as you would expect playing as Robocop but they make it just agile enough to where it doesn't feel too sluggish. The ability to put chips on your main gun is something that adds a little mini game which can be a nice distraction now and then. Skill points are gained each time you level up and are a very basic but welcome addition. Later on in the game the gunplay does feel slightly repetitive but picking up items like PC's, gas canisters and TV's to throw at your enemies mix it up enough. Still very enjoyable for the most part.

Overall: a mixed bag of a game with solid gameplay and entertaining storyline that is slightly let down by some questionable and outdated graphics, mediocre performance and can be limited in enjoyment depending if you're a Robocop fan or not. Far from perfect but a charming game that does just enough to keep you entertained throughout. 7/10.