Periodically, my pal Orrin Grey sends me a picture of something he found in a second hand bookstore or game shop. Some flavor of “Want this?” usually accompanies the picture and if I don’t already own the thing, my answer is almost always yes. That is how I came to own a copy of RoboCop: VCR Game (1988).

Let’s start with the good. I’ve never been in a position to soak in the movie poster for RoboCop before, but since it fronts this game, I am now afforded the opportunity. I never really thought RoboCop was cool. I am generally ambivalent about robots and, well, don’t get me started on cops. The idea behind RoboCop seems like a particularly awful sort of hell to find oneself in. And while I can acknowledge the character design is amazing, it never really did it for me. But man, sitting with this poster art for a while is kind of changing my mind a bit. The painting is just so damn good, with its soft pinks and blues, it really hits some hard to describe 80s aesthetic buttons. Or, maybe more accurate, hits on aesthetic buttons that have been seized and extrapolated upon by retro-vibe stuff like SynthWave and such.

Oh? The game? I don’t have a clue. I don’t have a VCR. That board is doing nothing to encourage me to get one, either. This feels like a minimum effort cash in, though on the other hand, securing the rights to use film clips in the game context also seems like a negotiation nightmare. I love the fact that, lower right, they italicized the word GAME for emphasis, just in case you were in any doubt. I also love the small print in the starburst: “Based on the hit R-rated movie, edited to be suitable for ages 12 and above.” Ahhhhh, the 80s!