Rise of the Robots

Rise of the Robots is a fighting game released by Time Warner Interactive in 1994. Originally developed for the Amiga and MS-DOS compatible operating systems by Mirage's Instinct Design, it was ported to video game consoles, including the Super NES, Mega Drive, and 3DO. The game includes a single-player mode in which the player assumes the role of the ECO35-2 Cyborg as he attempts to stop the Supervisor, who has taken over Electrocorp's facilities in Metropolis 4, and a two-player mode in which the second player controls a character chosen from among ECO35-2's enemies.

Developed by a team of five people, including former Bitmap Brothers member Sean Griffiths, Rise of the Robots was intended to utilize a high level of artificial intelligence (A.I.) that had never been seen in other fighting games at the time. The game features music from Queen's lead guitarist Brian May, although it only uses "The Dark" and "Resurrection", both tracks taken from his solo album Back to the Light, while the in-game music was composed by Richard Joseph.

Mirage's claims of unprecedented A.I. were augmented by screenshots circulating in the press that exhibited the game's use of pre-rendered graphics, a new technology at the time. As a result, Rise of the Robots became one of the most hyped games of its era. However, reviews were negative, as the promised cutting-edge A.I. failed to materialize, and critics found that the demands of the impressive graphics resulted in choppy animation and overly simplistic combat, with each character having a very limited set of moves. The game's high-profile failure led it to be regarded as an illustrative example of how impressive screenshots can deceive consumers, as poor gameplay and animation that may be present in the game are not apparent from them. A sequel, Rise 2: Resurrection, was released in 1996.