The rapid development of technology is making the prospect of a Terminator-style future where mankind plays second-fiddle to robots seem all too probable, but if you’re sick of waiting and would rather get familiar with our forthcoming Android overlords, then Robotek is the game for you.

This freemium title - from the guys behind the brilliant Buka, Everlands and EVAC - takes place on an Earth that has been ruthlessly dominated by robots. You assume the role of a droid with a sense of justice, and it’s your task to recapture power points all over the globe, referred to as nodes, and bring order to the chaos.

This noble goal is achieved by engaging enemy robots in a strategic game of skill, chance and laser death. At the start of each turn you select the action you would like to take. You can deploy robot units to the field, take the defensive option or unleash a special attack on your foe.

Using a fruit machine style interface, you have to stop each of the three wheels. What items, unit or attack you happen to use is decided by the icons you’re given once all three stop spinning. Getting a trio of the same symbol not only gives you a full-power item, attack or unit, but also awards you with an additional spin.

Although the fruit machine system gives the game an element of chance, there’s a tremendous amount of strategy at work here. Knowing when to bolster your defences with some additional droids can mean the difference between winning and losing, and a well-placed laser beam attack can knock your enemy out of contention almost immediately.

With over 200 different nodes to fight for, Robotek has a lot of gameplay to offer. Unfortunately, aside from an increase in difficulty, there’s no real difference between each battle. The enemy units all look exactly the same, which is disappointing.

A little bit of graphical variety would have worked wonders - especially when you consider that the visuals are so amazing. Hexage is famed for its incredible presentation, and Robotek is certainly no exception.

The other major issue relates to the freemium nature of the game. Although it’s great to see that it’s being offered free of charge, you’ll not get far before you realise that you need to stump up some cash to progress.

The developers have been kind enough to offer a multiplayer mode for those who use the in-app purchase option, and this does much to soften the blow of having to part with your cash, but there’s no denying that Robotek has been intentionally designed to require the spending of money. Personally speaking, we’d rather just pay for a game to begin with, and then have access to all of its content.

Still, money-related grumpiness aside, Robotek is yet another top-notch piece of software from Hexage. Although it’s not entirely perfect, it will enrapture RPG and strategy fans for quite some time, and there’s always room for updates to iron out some of those unsightly creases.