There are two varieties of home intruder. The first is someone obsessed with their next fix, desperate to steal electronic equipment to exchange for a below-market-value pricepoint behind a nearby pub. The second is Robbery Bob.
Bob inhabits a top-down stealth game and appears to be the Hamburglar’s cousin . Recently sprung from a nearby jail by someone too lazy to steal jewels, winning lottery tickets and his ex-wife’s particulars (again and again), it’s up to him to embark on a crime spree. Residents patrol the corridors of their homes, or stand waiting to be alerted at the kitchen hob, and Bob must avoid their gaze as he slinks through their houses, offices and high security vaults.
You’re rated for the speed of your swiping, whether or not you grabbed all the area’s loot (AA batteries, used tissues… all that rich stuff) and whether or not you alerted the residents. When you’re spotted a game of chasey-chasey ensues, often involving the hastily called constabulary, while collision with an angry local leads to game over.
Robbery Joe can be a slow game, albeit one aided and abetted by a fast forward button, but also a satisfying one when plans go well. Doors left open prompt inquisitive residents to investigate while you sneak around the back, while there’s a special sort of satisfaction to slamming a door in the face of a heartbroken dog who only wants to be loved.
You can’t help but feel that Joe could benefit from a few more laughs (the dialogue has the feel of a great set-up without the punch-lines to back it up) but it’s certainly a high quality title for a (now) free game. I would also have liked the option to shoot everyone and drive cars off mountains, but you can’t have everything.
If you wouldn’t mind pinching a pocket or two, Robbery Bob is now free on the App Store.
