pwnophobia
05-26-2010, 12:41 PM
Title: Rocket Knight
Platform: PS3
Platform Reviewed: PS3
Developer: Climax (http://www.climaxgroup.com/)
Publisher: Konami (http://konami.com/)
MSRP: $14.99
Writer: Adam 'pwnophobia' Cogswell
Rocket Knight Review
He's an opossum, not a mouse.
Before this gets started I should probably disclose that while I owned a Sega Genesis and a few games, I was at the mercy of my parents to purchase them for me. One can now assume that I never played the original release of Rocket Knight, which came out in '93, and this is a true assumption. However I did cut my teeth on platformers and am very pleased to say that the latest version of Rocket Knight holds that title proudly above its head.
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-1.jpg
Rocket Knight features Sparkster, an opossum on a mission to save his town from destruction equipped with a sword and a jet pack. You'll take Sparkster through four different stages, each with four parts, and use the same move set you start the game with throughout. Each stage is laid out beautifully in 2.5D and are set up to allow Sparkser to use his jet pack to bounce off walls and make it through the world swiftly and easily. The point of each stage is to make it to the end while racking up points by collecting gems and killing enemies, along with finding a few hidden items that are all tallied whenever you finish a stage. The story is told via in-game cut scenes but there is no voice acting, you're inferring what happens based on the context of the conversation and what you are told on loading screens. With all that being said we can get into the meat and potatoes of the game, which may surprise you isn't very much.
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-2.jpg
It took me one hour and fifty five minutes to complete the story mode all the while using two continues. Yes, you read that correctly. Even though I set Rocket Knight's difficulty to normal it's never consistent throughout the game. This is easily blamed on sections of the map having different puzzles to solve but enemies grow stronger with each stage and you've got no way to upgrade your damage or existing skill set. So what winds up happening is you'll be cruising through a level without an issue, using your jet pack to trigger events and bounce off walls, when you'll come to an increasingly diffcult point. Now you've got no choice but to try and get past it but you'll end up spending four or five lives, and this happens more than once a level. So you couldn't make it past that point and you have to use a continue, what happens? You start at the beginning of the level. No check points are saved, no enemies are dead, nothing changes.
The levels are fun to play and the creators tried to mix up how you play with two different types of game play. Normally you have the platforming sections where you'll jump and bounce your way through the level killing enemies and collecting gems. Alternatively there are a few flying sections where Sparkster's jet pack decides to work all the time and you control which way he goes while being pushed to the right by an invisible wall. This section helps to break up the monotony of running through four near identical stages, but the novelty wears off after a few minutes of charging your laser, killing bad guys and blowing up floating bombs. While all still fun and a welcome break during any point and time I couldn't help but think: "Didn't I already play this stage?"
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-3.jpg
Once you've finished the extremely short campaign mode you'll have the option to go back through and play it on a harder difficulty or go into free play. If you're a leaderboard whore these options may be appealing because you could easily spend a few hours on each level finding the best path for the most gems and highest score. However if you're one to play a game once and never go back, you may want to consider the steep $15 price tag on the game. I mentioned that I hadn't played the original, but when you compare this game to the Fun Per Hour (FPH) model the nostalgic properties are probably not enough to warrant a purchase. I wouldn't blame you for picking it up though, it can easily be beat in one sitting and is fun for the few hours you'll play.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/35.gif
The Good Loads of nostalgia.
Updated 2.5D High Def. Graphics
The Bad Too short to justify the purchase.
Can easily lose its nostalgic charm.
The Ugly I called him a mouse for about a day after I played.
Platform: PS3
Platform Reviewed: PS3
Developer: Climax (http://www.climaxgroup.com/)
Publisher: Konami (http://konami.com/)
MSRP: $14.99
Writer: Adam 'pwnophobia' Cogswell
Rocket Knight Review
He's an opossum, not a mouse.
Before this gets started I should probably disclose that while I owned a Sega Genesis and a few games, I was at the mercy of my parents to purchase them for me. One can now assume that I never played the original release of Rocket Knight, which came out in '93, and this is a true assumption. However I did cut my teeth on platformers and am very pleased to say that the latest version of Rocket Knight holds that title proudly above its head.
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-1.jpg
Rocket Knight features Sparkster, an opossum on a mission to save his town from destruction equipped with a sword and a jet pack. You'll take Sparkster through four different stages, each with four parts, and use the same move set you start the game with throughout. Each stage is laid out beautifully in 2.5D and are set up to allow Sparkser to use his jet pack to bounce off walls and make it through the world swiftly and easily. The point of each stage is to make it to the end while racking up points by collecting gems and killing enemies, along with finding a few hidden items that are all tallied whenever you finish a stage. The story is told via in-game cut scenes but there is no voice acting, you're inferring what happens based on the context of the conversation and what you are told on loading screens. With all that being said we can get into the meat and potatoes of the game, which may surprise you isn't very much.
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-2.jpg
It took me one hour and fifty five minutes to complete the story mode all the while using two continues. Yes, you read that correctly. Even though I set Rocket Knight's difficulty to normal it's never consistent throughout the game. This is easily blamed on sections of the map having different puzzles to solve but enemies grow stronger with each stage and you've got no way to upgrade your damage or existing skill set. So what winds up happening is you'll be cruising through a level without an issue, using your jet pack to trigger events and bounce off walls, when you'll come to an increasingly diffcult point. Now you've got no choice but to try and get past it but you'll end up spending four or five lives, and this happens more than once a level. So you couldn't make it past that point and you have to use a continue, what happens? You start at the beginning of the level. No check points are saved, no enemies are dead, nothing changes.
The levels are fun to play and the creators tried to mix up how you play with two different types of game play. Normally you have the platforming sections where you'll jump and bounce your way through the level killing enemies and collecting gems. Alternatively there are a few flying sections where Sparkster's jet pack decides to work all the time and you control which way he goes while being pushed to the right by an invisible wall. This section helps to break up the monotony of running through four near identical stages, but the novelty wears off after a few minutes of charging your laser, killing bad guys and blowing up floating bombs. While all still fun and a welcome break during any point and time I couldn't help but think: "Didn't I already play this stage?"
http://evavhost.com/i/press/rocket-3.jpg
Once you've finished the extremely short campaign mode you'll have the option to go back through and play it on a harder difficulty or go into free play. If you're a leaderboard whore these options may be appealing because you could easily spend a few hours on each level finding the best path for the most gems and highest score. However if you're one to play a game once and never go back, you may want to consider the steep $15 price tag on the game. I mentioned that I hadn't played the original, but when you compare this game to the Fun Per Hour (FPH) model the nostalgic properties are probably not enough to warrant a purchase. I wouldn't blame you for picking it up though, it can easily be beat in one sitting and is fun for the few hours you'll play.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/35.gif
The Good Loads of nostalgia.
Updated 2.5D High Def. Graphics
The Bad Too short to justify the purchase.
Can easily lose its nostalgic charm.
The Ugly I called him a mouse for about a day after I played.