Any popular 80s kid's entertainment property HAD to have a computer game!
Created in 1987 by UK based REAKTOR and distributed by Ariolasoft of Germany, Challenge of the Gobots is a fast, side scrolling shooter released for popular 80s 8-bit computers.
You take on the role of Leader-1 who needs to shoot his way through oncoming spacecraft in a Defender style playfield. Ground target vehicles are addressed by throwing rocks at them and you need to land and dig those up. On the ground Leader-1 converts in to robot mode and he can walk around. The main goal is to destroy the enemy base ball things by collecting clones of Scooter that act as bombs. Gravity pulls Leader-1 towards the top or bottom of the screen depending on which he's closest to. When you reach top ranking the humans may fall from Cop-Tur and you can rescue them. Once complete the game starts anew set at a harder difficulty.
Uncommonly the game natively allows players to adjust variables such as vertical and horizontal thrust, gravity effect, enable disable the hills, etc. to tweak play. Even then it's extremely difficualt due to gameplay being fast and requireing accuracy the controls don't really support. Doubly tough so on the Amstrad and Spectrum as they both have poor collission detection; the later being far worse.
The game's main drawcard beyond the Gobots franchise is the involvement of Tony Crowther. He was renouned for games like Loco, Wanted! Monty Mole and Blagger however for watever reason, this title doesn't hold up to those in polish.
Challenge of the Gobots Amstrad 464 / 664 / 6128
Challenge of the Gobots Commodore 64 / 128
Challenge of the Gobots Spectrum 48 / 128
The release also included a digital story book and accompanying music & story tape titled, 'The Challenge'.
Trivia Only the Commodore 64 version referes to the game's full name, 'Challenge of the Gobots on the Mobian Strip' on the title screen.
