B.O.B.

Overview

B.O.B. is a side-scrolling shooter developed by Gray Matter Interactive that was released on the Genesis and SNES platforms in 1993. B.O.B. was also included as a part of the EA Replay compilation which was released for the PSP handheld in 2006.

Plot

B.O.B. is just a common teenage robot looking to score his dad’s car keys and get to his hot date. After a long lecture from his father about responsibility and how he’ll never drive again if there’s even a single scratch, B.O.B.’s journey to pick up his hot date begins. Whilst cruising through the universe in his dad’s pimped out pink space Cadillac and listening to rock n’ roll full blast on the stereo, B.O.B. blindly wanders into an asteroid field and proceeds to plow his father’s car straight into the side of an asteroid. B.O.B. crash lands on a mysterious planet filled with hostile robots and creatures. He proceeds to blast his way through every last baddie and boss the foul planet has to throw at him until he finally reaches the end where he finds a brand new car. From there he continues on to find himself a hot fembot.

Gameplay

B.O.B. is at its core a shooter. The player starts with only a standard single shot weapon, but there are five additional ammo types the can be collected throughout the world. These consist of a spread shot, flamethrower, missiles, lightning, and wave. If B.O.B. happens to run low on ammo, he is able to perform a melee attack by throwing a massive fist. In addition to standard weapons, there are six remotes that can be collected to help B.O.B. make it through the hostile terrain. These include items which not only are offensive, but also some that make B.O.B. more able to navigate through the twists, turns, and obstacles that he faces. The remotes include a light, a protective shield that grants temporary invincibility, an umbrella that slows B.O.B.’s descent on long drops, a spring that allows for high jumps, a propeller that allows B.O.B. to fly for short distances, and a time bomb that clears the screen of all enemies. B.O.B.’s health can be refilled by picking up the wrench item or by stepping into a recharger.

B.O.B. moves between levels linearly via an overworld map. Unlike other shooters, B.O.B. is not a strictly walk from left to right affair though. The game combines the shooting elements with platforming elements and presents worlds filled with obstacles where the player must navigate up, down, left, and right. In addition to standard levels, there are also some vehicle levels where B.O.B. has to fly a car through a maze-like environment to the finish line. A time-limit is present on every stage. Once the timer goes down to zero, B.O.B.’s life will start quickly depleting until either the player reaches the end of the stage or B.O.B. dies.