Ultimate Robot Fighting Review

Of all the movie tie-in mobile games, Real Steel: World Robot Boxing has to be one of the biggest sleeper hits on the App Store, showing some real lasting power and truly setting itself apart from the movie. So the next robot fighting game to come from the same developers has a lot to live up to.

Ultimate Robot Fighting owes such a debt to Injustice: Gods Among Us that it’s impossible not to compare the two. From the trading card-centric bronze, silver, and gold class system, to the tiered story mode, to the aggravating stamina system – almost everything is reminiscent of the popular tactical fighting game. It’s a bit of shame since Real Steel stood on its own two metal legs as a distinctive fighter, and Ultimate Robot Fighting has done away with that satisfying system.

Instead, the Injustice-style tag team system of 3 interchangeable characters is present, as players tactically switch them around to ensure victory. They do this by combining light attacks (tapping), heavy attacks (swiping) and devastating special attacks (tapping the designated energy bar), all while monitoring health levels. While the special moves certainly look cool, they don’t have the novelty or intrigue of recognizable superhero finishing moves and therefore leave something to be desired.

The Synergy system that grants players certain gameplay boosts if they use a specific lineup is a nice idea, and the cel-shaded graphics certainly paint a pretty picture, but the gameplay feels too much like old hat overall.

As good as Real Steel was and is, it’s disappointing that Ultimate Robot Fighting decided to scrap that old system (rather than building on it) and replace it with a rehash of an altogether more prominent and established, albeit fiendishly addictive, game. For fans of Injustice who are sick of watching Superman punch people into space or Batman hit people with his Batmobile, Ultimate Robot Fighting might be a nice alternative set in the same framework. However for others like me who have played that game to death, that might not be the case.