Mini-boss Vs. Gnoming missles.
As you Shoot Many Robots you’ll notice they drop a steady supply of nuts. Pick these up; they’re your currency. The nice thing is that the nut dispersal system doesn’t seem to be based on how many nuts you pick up or how many robots you destroy. Another nice thing is the near infinite supply of nut jokes while playing with your co-op buddies. All the nuts are divided up at the end of a level. Don’t feel bad if you only killed 30 bots and you buddies killed 200. When we were playing our kill counts would differ wildly. One player may have 200 kills while another would have 100, and yet another may have 40. All players received a good chunk of the spoils, with the top players getting a small bonus.
Loot is handled easily enough: Item drops are color-coded according to each player, so no one can jack another’s precious spoils -- and the spoils are splendiferous! From the “110% American” assault rifle to the mighty “Fluffy’s Revenge,” badass loot is what will keep you coming back for more. The drops are randomized so your arsenal will be different from your buddy’s after only a few levels. You’ll have to play a stage several times if you want to get every item -- and I know you’ve got your eyes on those underoos that add a "Plus 100% Nut Suck Radius" bonus. Yeah, that’s a thing.
Players heal themselves by drinking beer, just like in real life. If a player goes down he can easily be revived by any other player. Teams that are conscious of each other’s health will be very successful against the robot hordes.
These nut sacks are color coded to prevent nut hoarding.
Once you’ve unlocked an item you’ll still have to buy it in the RV store. Some items unlock when you hit a certain level, others need to be purchased with your hard earned nuts. The best items are quite expensive. You’ll have to grind for nuts if you want the best gear. Or, you can always skip the grind and “Nut Up.” This allows you to spend real life money (or Microsoft points) for in-game items. You can purchase individual items or nuts by the sack load. It’s up to you.
SMR has and ingenious way of pressing the action. Other shooters may allow you to rest on your laurels and blast enemies from a distance. This is not the case for Tugnut and friends. To advance to new areas you need to earn stars in each level, to get stars you need nuts, and to get nuts you need to risk your hide picking them up before they disappear. You get the most nuts by keeping your nut multiplier high, and the best way to do this is to, well, Shoot Many Robots. Quickly. My inner beast mode was officially activated when I finished a solo level with 26260 nuts and four stars, 240 nuts away from a five star finish. I found that if I played solo I struggled to finish a “hard” level with two or three stars. If I played with some friends we usually earned a four or five star ranking.
"Run" is what you do when a plan fails.
SMR is far from over once you hit the level 50 cap. Insane mode is made specifically for high level characters. Players will have to equip themselves properly, take on class rolls, and work as a team if they hope to survive the mind-shattering onslaught of kill-crazed murder-bots.
As great as SMR is, there are a few flaws. The game loses a bit of its magic when played by yourself. The levels get repetitive and the music is a little slow and twangy for such a fast paced game. You won’t notice these minor problems once a friend joins your adventure. If you’re playing with three other people the repetitive stages become a dynamic canvas of explosions and raining metal parts. You’ll never notice the music.
Shoot Many Robots is a stellar co-op shooter. There are over 60 stages by my count, each lasting at least five to twenty minutes in length. You’ll want to play most stages multiple times, some even have branching pathways. With hundreds of weapons and items to collect, smooth shooting controls, and a ton of replay value, that’s a lot of game for $10. If you’ve got a robot wrecking crew I highly recommend you nut up and Shoot Many Robots.
This Co-Optimus review of Shoot Many Robots was based off of the XBLA version of the game which was provided by the publisher. The Co-Optimus mascot appears in this game
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Two to four players, either locally or online, can team up for run and gun fun against armies of deadly robots. Each player is awarded loot and nuts at the end of every level.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.