...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Xilolee posted a fix for yesterdays game that enables you to play Arcanoid: Ball of Destiny in full screen. Just hold down alt and click Enter. Thanks Xilolee

Madrobot-x

In Brief

Madrobot X is an old school shoot em up (Shmup) with a retro feel. Another android port, though well worth entering, especially if you love Shmups. If you don't win a key and prefer to play this on a PC then it will only cost you £0.59 until 29th Sept, then it will cost £0.79.

Suggestions:

If you win a key for Madrobot X please give some feedback about your opinion of the game, for example, what did you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved from your point of view . If you don't like this genre at all, please explain why. What improvements would change your opinion? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. For example, you could suggest extra content such as better or more original mini games, or a level editor that you would like to see that would make it more appealing to you. Maybe you think the graphics are a little dated and are in need of re skinning, or maybe you've just had enough of the genre and want to see something different or something with more originality?

If you fail to win one of the licenses on offer or you totally miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via Steam 24/7 HERE. for £0.79/0.99$, though there's 25% off at the moment.

Introduction:

MadRobot X is an old school shoot 'em up game. You control a robot trying to escape from the laboratory of a mad scientist, and to accomplish this, you'll need the help of GoboGobo, another robot who also wants to escape. The task is not easy; the mad scientist will do anything to prevent anyone from escaping.

Reference accessed HERE. 25th Sept 2016

Installation:

Assuming you win a Steam key for Madrobot X, once you've found it (sent to your email) you have to activate the game via your Steam client. Once activated it will be permanently tied to your Steam profile and you'll be able to install the game at any time anywhere on any computer so long as you can validate who you are (usually via emails etc). if you don't have a Steam account you will first have to download and install the Steam client via the following link:

HERE

Then create a Steam profile. Once that has been completed you can input the Steam code that you've received (after completing the form filling) via the game button along the top of the Steam client, (located between friends and Help - see image below). From the drop down menu select Activate a product on Steam. This opens a product activation window. Just follow the prompts to complete activation. Once the Steam code has been accepted the game will be permanently associated with your steam account.

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Madrobot X to work, please visit the problems section, which I've now incorporated into the FAQ's thread, and which you can find HERE

The Game:

The game features a pixel art style with progressive challenge and power ups. There are special skills available and you hhave to fight through 12 Bosses. This is almost a bullet hell game, but in my opinion not quite. That said, there is a nightmare mode. You also have game pad support with two modes , i.e. Normal: LStick moves the robot, RStick shoots and maneuvers the beam or Classic: LStick moves the robot and maneuvers the beam, buttons shoot

MadRobot X has you in the role of a robot who has been captured by an evil scientist. You’re a robot head that’s been separated from it’s body. You need to shoot your way out. guided by another robot head. All you have is your head gun that never runs out of ammo and mysterious power ups scattered around the levels, because reasons. When things get too hard you can call upon your body to pull out a level clearing attack.

I know this sounds totally crazy, but MadRobot X works and makes sense… Sorta. It’s a retro game with a retro kind of story so just buckle up for the ride.

Two levels into MadRobot I bought in and unlocked the premium purchase. I fell in love with the game too fast. I know. I am a bad reviewer… But it was really, good! The music is retro catchy goodness that you will find yourself humming and remembering hours after playing. The graphics were simple but good. Although I would appreciate it if the explosion effects were a bit more differentiated from the bullets. Maybe give the projectiles a purple or pink tint to make them even easier to see. Any who I got to level three and took a break. When I got back I found I started off with virtually no health at all and I just couldn’t beat the level because it was so hard/cheap… Did I make a mistake?

About two dozen frustrating tries later and I found that I was stuck.. The level felt impossible and I knew it wasn’t me. A few days later and plenty of tries to boot I was right about to start writing a bad review of the game. First I was going to put it on iTunes. Well it just so happened that there was an update for MadRobot X. New modes added, fixes as well, and best of all things were balanced. Boom! All of a sudden I was able to start the level with full health. The world was still punishing, very punishing, but not as cheap. Hours later I beat the game. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. Was it perfect? No. Did MadRobot X deserve the £0.79.99 cents premium upgrade price? *25% cheaper till the 29th September) Definitely a resounding YES!.

MadRobot X manages to balance progressive difficulty and fun perfectly after the last update. £0.79/$0.99 cents is a steal for the fun I’ve had. I replayed the base game and have been toying around with the challenge boss rush mode. I’ve even dabbled in the nightmare mode. So far all three modes make MadRobot X seem totally worth the price.

MadRobot X is an excellent game, especially for the price you pay, or in the game of those who win a key, for free

Edited reference accessed HERE. 25th Sept 2016. Original review written by Bernardo Español Apr 1, 2016 expanded and edited by Whiterabbit-uk

Other Reviews, Videos and Video's

You can see Steam community reviews of Madrobot X HERE, and if you want to see some game play you can see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Conclusion:

An excellent Shmup, that I highly recommend getting, even if you don't win a key. The game is only £0.59p/$0.74 (and even cheaper in Canada) at the moment (until the 29th September when it increases by 25% to £0.79/$0.99). The game play is fast and furious, with two modes, ideal for any Shmup fan. Seriously I'd have paid at least £5 for this.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the developer NetoX for giving away 30 keys for this excellent Shmup Madrobot X and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games, in this case Steam keys.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals', formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

If today's game was not to your liking, you may find other games either free or for less than the price of a cup of coffee (from your favorite coffee house) via the 'Weekly Roundup of Game Deals' thread which I've posted a link to above, or HERE.

.

The latest free game over on Origin is still Nox. You can get it HERE. Please note that you do require the Origin game platform to be able to download and install the game. The PC version of ALERT: SECTOR 8 (a traditional Shoot Em Up)is also still available over on Failmids Shareware-on-Sale site HERE. Plus for one more day the Queens package for Desert Operations HERE (Not a Steam key and you need to create a free account for the free to play game before you can redeem the code, which has to be completed by mid November). Thanks to Delenn for reminding me about this offer. Also available via Failmid's site is the the open world racing game The Crew (ends Monday 3rd Oct). After that time watch out for another 30 years anniversary gift to the gaming community. so far the games Ubisoft have included on this anniversary offer have been quality games. You will need the uPlay client for The Crew. To get the game you have to log into your uPlay account, then click on the banner that says Ubisoft turns 30. This should open a new page where you can get The Crew added to your account. The Crew is also a premium AAA game and well worth getting, especially if you like open world racing games. To get The Crew the shareware link I've provided above isn't actually necessary. You just have to sign into your uPlay account and look for the Ubisoft turning 30 link, or if you don't have a uPlay account create an account HERE. Click on the green Join the Club button, get your free account, then get your free copy of The Crew.

If you spend over two dollars in the Indie Gala store (they have some excellent bundle deals, but these are excluded from the offer) you will also get a free copy of Angel Express

DIG are still offering free Steam keys for Hacker Evolution Time Dimensions and Crystals of time. To get keys for these two games you will have to do similar activities as you do for those Steam games that have been offered for the past several months over on the game giveaway site. You can find those free Steam key deals HERE (Hacker Evolution: Time Dimensions and HERE (Crystals of Time).

More about Shoot em Up's - Shmup's

If you love Shmups, Steam released Galactic Storm a few days ago. It's slightly more expensive than Madrobot X at £1.99, but after playing it, I'd also highly recommend buying this game if you are into Shmups. The main difference between the two is Galactic Storm has beautiful graphics, otherwise the game play is on the same lines. You can find the game HERE. also I posted a thread in the game discussion forums years ago called Space Shoot ;Em Ups or Shmup's: A A Longish list of free games HERE that links to free shmup games as well as recommends older commercial titles. There has been a resurgence of interest in Shmups over the last couple of years and you can get loads of these games, all with gorgeous graphics but most are similar in game play, but I've not included those in the thread yet. Still, if you are a Shmup fanatic, the new games available on Steam and elsewhere are like Shmup heaven. you can find details of what the community consider the best by going to You tube and looking for top ten lists, for example . I may update the thread in the near future as i want to do a feature on Shmups on Whiterabbits reviews once the site is fully open.

The following videos give a brief idea of what's out there these days. None of which are mentioned in my old thread, but will be added when I can find the time to update the thread. Check them out HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. There's loads of videos about Shmups that are worth exploring especially if you are into the genre, which I am.

Just found (Sunday evening) the following bundle called Fall Gamebundle, that includes 3 space based games two of them shmups and one strategy game. They are Battlestorm, The Fleets of Sol and Astrokill. You can pick all three up for a little over $3.50. I've added a few more space oriented games to the Shmups thread, all from bundles that are live at this time.I've only checked the indie Gala and Game Bundle sites so far. There are at least 60 bundles live at the moment. most bundles retails for much less than $5, so you may find some excellent shmups if you check through the indie bundles that I've linked to in the Weekly round up of games thread over in the Game discussion sticky section. There's also another bundle on the Game bundle site that is soon to end called The LaborDay Bundle that also has a decent Shmup called Nordenfelt included. I've linked to it over in the Shmups thread, but yopu can also find the bundle HERE and see on Steam HERE. The usual cost of that game is £5.99/$8.99 but you can get it and nine other games for $3.73 (approx £2.88)

The other games in the bundle also include Onion force (Tower Defense/Action Adventure), Milita (turn based strategy board game), One Day for Ched (old school shooter), Contasion 2 a top down modern take on the original GTA games, Sky to Fly : Faster Then Wind (Sreampunk runner), Envy the Dead (first person zombie survival rougelike), Rover the Dragonslayer (Hack and Slash game). The bundle is sold in three tiers, To get the three space games you have to pay the average price which is $3.26 plus a further $0.25, making a total of $3.51, for that you get 10 excellent indie games. The three space games are worth more than that alone. in fact, the cheapest of those three games Battlestorm costs more if you buy it directly from steam. All games come with Steam keys. You can find the deal HERE

The following are several other space oriented games you'll find in one of the several Indie Gala bundles that are available at this time. You'll find Indie Gala HERE and details of the games Nightwork Adventures Beyond the Moons of Shadalee, IACTURA, G Prime, Space Ranger ASK, Haegemonia: The Solon Heritage, Haegemonia: Legions of Iron, RX Squad. I've posted more details (and will tomorrow add some images and perhaps some video) in the weekly Round up of Games thread which I've linked to above.

The Following are more space shooters with a few other shooters thrown in, most of which are on sale this week over on Steam. Just click on the name to see the game on steam, with images and videos of game play.

Shmup Love Boom - 70% off £0.59
The Renegades of Orion 2.0 - £1.59
Void - £3.99
1917 - The Alien Invasion - £3.99
War Birds: WW2 Air strike 1942 - £1.39 (50% off till 3rd Oct)
Bladestar - £2.44 (65% off till 3rd Oct)
Infinity Wings - Scout & Grunt - £0.99 (50% off till 3rd Oct)
Freespace 2 - £3.49 (50% off till 3rd Oct)
Uriel's Chasm 2: את - £0.99 (75% off till 3rd Oct)
Zotrix - £2.49 (75% off till 3rd Oct)
Zotrix - Solar Division - £6.99 (Tower Defense in space)
CDF Starfighter VR - £8.49 (15% off till 3rd Oct)
Naval War: Arctic Circle - £3.74 (75% off till 3rd Oct)
Fair Strike - £0.69 (75% off till 3rd Oct)
Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War - £3.35 (30% off till 3rd Oct)
Space Codex - £0.39 (51% off till 3rd Oct)
LUFTRAUSERS - £1.74 (75% off till 3rd Oct)