RoboCop: Rogue City is like an Xbox 360 throwback at its best.

One of the weirdest video game commercials we've seen in a while is RoboCop: Rogue City, a first-person shooter in the RoboCop universe – that is, the popular 1987 film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Peter. Weller, it's not 2014 again.

It was unexpected. But now that the meaty demo of the game is out and I've put a few hours into the game, I have a new preview for my most anticipated fall games. RoboCop: Rogue City is a throwback to the old style of gameplay at it's best.

In the past, developers were exploring the first-person shooter genre and still experimenting—this was before the industry settled on “every shooter is either Doom or World War.”

Alongside your Medals of Honor and Call of Duty, we got to play weird titles like The Darkness and The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay – both from Starbreeze. They sit somewhere between deep role-playing series like Deus Ex and System Shock and the countless shoot-first-don't-ask-questions military shooters. These games don't just put the main character's preferred weapon at your fingertips; They put their shoes on your feet.

Butcher's Bay drops you into an inescapable intergalactic dungeon and you're tasked with doing exactly that—get out of trouble. You had to deal with and interact with other inmates, control the guards, and endure getting into trouble every day to find your way out.

Meanwhile, The Darkness introduces us to Jackie Estacado, the demon-infused Mr. Bungle and No Faith vocalist Mike Patton. You still had work to do, but you could explore your surroundings during your free time. You can even sit down with your girlfriend and watch an entire movie embedded in the game.

Both games seek to immerse you in the world of their characters. Fighting the prison guards or shooting punks was a part of every character but they had time apart from that.

And that's exactly what RoboCop: Rogue City feels like. From Polish game developer Teon, this isn't just a RoboCop action game – it's a new chapter in RoboCop's life.

The display will open as desired in the sequence of steps laid out. As RoboCop, you enter a television station where people are being held hostage by a gang called the Torchheads. As you climb the tower with partner Ann Lewis, you must solve some small puzzles and search for evidence. Tensions mount, and a climactic sequence goes horribly wrong when RoboCop discovers his wife is being held hostage by a gang of punks.

After taking down the cones, you return yourself to the previous position. There are characters you know from movies, and after a battle like this, you need a bit of maintenance and rest. Robo is struggling with memories of his past, but he can't voice them.

He's still a cop, and you can go about your normal police duties. They drag a guy into the drunken tank. There is a shooting range where you can practice your fire and set records. Later, you'll participate in a briefing that sends you into a Detroit neighborhood on your own that looks like it's been ripped right out of the movie.

This environment may be small compared to open-world games these days, but it's detailed and dense. And RoboCop is pretty slow, if we're being honest. There are many cases to track down and solve, and the game gives you the chance to get justice just the way you want it. Is that kid doing graffiti? Maybe he needs some community service time. Should a remorseful car thief do time, or is he the one to return the car to its owner?

In that neighborhood, you can search for legal violations and issue tickets using your optical scanner. A car parked next to a hydrant? Maybe paying some money will give you a lesson. Through it all, you can level up RoboCop by solving crimes, finding evidence, and even headbutting when the situation calls for it. That includes abilities like dash moves or being able to open safes without the combo – the same light role-playing elements that those older games offered, allowing you to feel the character without sinking into the tedium.

It's a different vibe from today's fast-paced shooters. You're not a doom guy running at Olympic speeds. RoboCop moves slowly and deliberately, but he can take a lot of shots and doesn't have to worry about falling damage – he's different from your typical shooter protagonist in that he feels like RoboCop.

If this demo is any indication of the final product, when RoboCop: Rogue City hits PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on November 3, the $50 price tag is going to feel like a steal. You should keep an eye on Theon as a studio that recaptures the more focused and nuanced shooter campaigns of the Xbox 360 era.

Editor's Note: RoboCop: Rogue City is a traditional video game with no NFT or crypto elements.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.