Friday 26 August 2016

Robot Wars Episode 5 Review

Our penultimate heat before the final is arguably the least destructive and spectacular so far.

Thermidor 2 Vs Chompalot Vs Pulsar Vs Ironside 3

Whilst there were a number of returning robots, the only one who achieved any real success was Thermidor 2 who reached the semi-finals in season 4 and once flipped Behemoth and Stinger OOTA in the same fight.  They are modelled on a lobster with grabbing pincers and a flipper.  The other robots included the dragon-esque Chompalot with a crushing beak, Pulsar with a 9000 RPM spinning drum and Ironside 3 who were armed with a 1500 rpm spinning hammer.

Considering Thermidor's pedigree, I had high hopes for them.  This was why it was so disappointing to see them chase Chompalot into the CPZ, fail to flip them, before conking out after an encounter with Shunt.  Ironside 3 were far more impressive immobilising Pulsar by taking out their wheels.  They also tore Chompalot's armour to pieces.  Although, Pulsar managed to hang onto a judges' decision, Chompalot and Ironside took the win.

Crazy Coupe 88 Vs Gabriel Vs Beast vs Infernal Contraption

Crazy Coupe 88 had two spinning hammers, but also exposed wheels, which as we've seen have always been a major weakness.  Gabriel was a curious machine.  My friend Jamie described them as a Poundland Stinger, which is about right.  Their robot consisted of two massive wheels and a bludgeoning axe/spike. The idea is to use the robot's momentum to thwack other robots.  Beast sacrificed having armour in favour of a powerful flipper and Infernal Contraption had a vertical spinning drum.

Gabriel was a clumsy machine, but also difficult to get hold off.  The effectiveness of its weapon is to be questioned, but it also withstood attacks from the more obviously powerful Beast and Crazy Coupe 88.  Beast's sacrifice paid off, as they soon flipped and immobilised Crazy Coupe 88.  Meanwhile, Infernal Contraption opened the pit and then dived into it.  Gabriel and Beast were the winners.

Gabriel vs Chompalot

Due to Gabriel's strange shape, it is difficult to get hold off, which is what Chompalot soon found out.  Having said that, their claw seemed more effective than Gabriel's bludgeoning axe.  Chompalot were on top until they were toppled by the floor flipper.  The house robots then came in for the kill, leaving Chompalot a smoking mess.  But where there's smoke, there's fire.  Chompalot's lithium batteries short-circuited with the damage being so severe that they had to withdraw from the competition.  However, the judges picked Pulsar as a replacement.

Beast vs Ironside 3

Beast's best chance to take out Ironside 3 were in the few seconds where Ironside was spinning up to full power.  However, Ironside were clever and initially ran away, allowing their spinning hammer time to power up.  From here, Beast was mainly chasing them around the arena, unable to get their flipper into play.  In contrast, Ironside 3's spinning hammer was effective, taking full advantage of Beast's lack of armour by shredding their wheels.  We've seen it time and time again.  DO NOT BRING EXPOSED WHEELS INTO THE ARENA.

Gabriel Vs Ironside 3

Ironside 3 continued to impress, whilst Gabriel continued to perplex.  Gabriel's bludgeoning spike was clumsy and continuously missed its target.  When it did make contact, it didn't seem to cause any visible damage.  Ironside 3 were far more potent.  Their spinning hammer reduced Gabriel's flimsy wheel treads to scraps and bent its bludgeoning spike out of of shape.  Although they followed Stinger's design, Gabriel's spike lacked the same power and for that reason, Ironside 3 were the winners.

Pulsar Vs Beast

This was Pulsar's first fight since their reinstatement and they proved why they were worthy of a second chance.  I was initially sceptical of their high-mounted spinning drum, but I was left eating my words, after only two hits, they knocked out Beast.

Beast Vs Gabriel

I continued eating my words, as Gabriel finally showed what they were capable off.  Whilst Beast managed to get a few flips in, they had little effect against the bemusing Gabriel.  Meanwhile, Gabriel hammered blows onto Beast's unarmour body until they were immobile on side.  Gabriel could have come in for the kill, but out of courtesy, they refused to do any more damage.  Courteous? Yes.  Entertaining? No.  THIS IS ROBOT WARS.  WE WANT METAL MASHING, CHROME CLASHING AND STEEL SMASHING.  No more Gentleman's agreements please.

Pulsar Vs Ironside 3

This match had all of the makings of a Robot Wars Controversy.  Two evenly matched robots, misbehaving house robots and a judge's decision.  Pulsar seemed to have the match one, when the force of their spinning drum flipped over Ironside 3.  Ironside 3's schrimech was faulty and they seemed immobile, until Killalot intervened and unfairly righted it.  Ironside 3 took full advantage of this by opening the pit and pitting Pulsar before following them in.  The decision went to the judges and I was braced for controversy.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had awarded the decision to Pulsar.  They determined that Ironside 3 was immobilised and unfairly righted by Sir Killalot.

Pulsar Vs Gabriel

The heat final was between the reinstated Pulsar and the ponderous Gabriel.  Gabriel continued to be cumbersome and inaccurate, hammering the arena floor and not their opponent.  Pulsar was far more impressive, sending Gabriels' tyre treads and armour plates flying around the arena.  But Pulsar also had transmitter problems, experiencing periods of immobility.  The fight went to the judges and they gave it to Pulsar who joins Carbide, Shockwave, TR2 and Apollo in the final.  The final spot will be decided by the judges out of the five runners up: Behemoth, Thor, Dantomkia, Storm 2 and Gabriel.  I would be very happy to see Thor back.  They were an impressive robot with a nice team.  I didn't particularly like the Gabriel robot nor the Dantomkia team.

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