Overview
Attack of the PETSCII Robots is an indie sci-fi top-down action-adventure game developed and published by The 8-Bit Guy for the Commodore 64, Commodore VIC-20, and Commodore PET computers on February 6, 2021. The game can be bought directly from the studio's website and later received ports to other computers and consoles.
Developed by David Murray (the creator of the YouTube technology channel The 8-Bit Guy, as well as the Planet X series), PETSCII Robots was built to natively support Commodore's first line of microcomputers (the Commodore PET), with the name PETSCII referring to the platform's character set of the same name. Similar to Murray's other games, in-depth "making-of" videos can found on his YouTube channel.
The game is set sometime in the future, where robots attempt to take over human settlements on various planets. Players must infiltrate these settlements and destroy all robots through clever use of items and the environment (such as shooting explosive canisters nearby enemies and moving crates to alter the path of an enemy robot towards a trash compactor).
The PET and VIC-20 versions require a RAM expander for their platforms (with the PET requiring 32K and the VIC-20 requiring 40K total). The VIC-20 and C64 versions feature enhanced graphics (with the C64 version also supporting classic graphics in both monochrome and color variants). Boxed versions of the game include an adapter for the user port of either system that allows connectivity with Super Nintendo Entertainment System controllers (with bonus external speaker support for early PET models).
The game later received ports to multiple computers, including the Apple II (on May 19, 2021), the Atari 8-bit family (on August 23, 2021), the Commodore Plus/4, and the Commodore 128. Versions for the Apple IIgs, Amiga 500, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari 7800, and Sega Genesis are in development.
Log in to comment