Rocket Knight, a classic title returns, fully remade for Xbox LIVE Arcade (May 12th) and the Playstation Network (May 18th)! Read our review to find out if this blast from the past is worth your hard earned cash.
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Originally appearing as Rocket Knight Adventures on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1993, Rocket Knight is a mix of 2D and 3D platform gameplay. Players take on the role of Sparkster to save the kingdom of Zephyrus. The game features over 10 stages of platform gameplay, plus a few flight missions are added into the mix. The main area of play will be your arcade mode which allows you to play through the storyline. As you complete the levels, you can also play them in free play if you wish to best your scores on certain level, or work towards a particular achievement. Beyond that, a few other bonuses can be unlocked, but we’ll keep those secret, so you’ll have a reason to check out the game yourself.
Rocket Knight must use a myriad of powers and skills to defeat his enemies and save Zephyrus, all of which involve the use of his rocket pack and energy sword. Your move set allows for quick rocket boosts into your enemies, spinning drill attacks, and medium-range energy blast attacks, plus the basic hack and slash technique. Rocket power regains fairly quickly and is indicated by a meter in the upper left corner of your HUD. In a particular stage, you’ll learn that heat is required for rocket boost recharging, so you’ll have to use it sparingly, but don’t worry as you’ll have plenty of opportunities to recharge. Techniques such as quick boosts through the air, wall ricochets, and spin attacks will often help to rid areas of enemies and reach certain areas.
One of the great things about this game is the fact that it has a very polished ambience, but feels like a coexisting retro atmosphere. Levels are designed to flow well, and for the most part are quite straightforward. At times you might be slightly confused, but provided you’re paying attention to short cutscenes, you should have any trouble finding out where to go. However, you may find yourself in a bind trying to get where you need to be, as you may at times be restricted by strict time limits or other hardships. Still, Rocket Knight is a blast and you feel satisfied when you go ricocheting off walls and take out a line of enemies immediately after.
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The gameplay is very fluent, with no apparent glitches or slowdown that I came across. You’ll be flying vertically to reach new heights, horizontally to cross chasms, and you’ll often be avoiding enemy attacks, lasers, and simply maneuvering through maze-like levels at times. Also, blue and red gems, as well as extra lives and health icons can be collected in every level, some being related to achievements, so start improving those hunting skills. As you progress further in Rocket Knight, the difficulty increases noticeably, and you’ll have to take things slow (unless you’re forced to rush), and be more methodical. The hard difficulty isn’t unfair, but later in the game you may be regretting it on your first playthrough. Normal difficulty may be a little too easy early on, but it evens out, so I’d suggest that to start out.
Visually, the holds both a retro look, but it also dons the style of PS2 Mega-Hit JAK & Daxter, but played in a mostly 2D perspective. Colors are extremely vibrant, and you’ll see electric bolts, explosions, and smoke trails littering the screen, and it looks fantastic. Due to its nature, we can’t compare to a game such as Toy Soldiers, but in going for an even mix of both retro and modern style, it’s perfect.
In terms of sound, Rocket Knight makes it into the winners’ circle. The game supports a catchy soundtrack, various sound effects to enhance and intensify the game, and also combines a retro sound with the quality of today’s standards. Background tracks do loop often, which normally might annoy some people, but because it’s not annoying to being with, you overlook that factor. Plus, most of the times you’re going to be involved in non-stop action and won’t even hear the music as you’re too focused on other things.
Clearly, Rocket Knight is a polished title, and it sets a standard for new games to be remade for LIVE Arcade and Playstation Network. It’s fun, challenging, at times slightly frustrating, and addictive. In other words, Rocket Knight is pretty much what you would expect of a decent game. While the 1200 :MSPoints: price point may seem a little high, we can assure you the game is worth it. This is a title you’ll keep coming back to, and you’ll enjoy earning new high scores, and you’ll have a blast. For more information, head over to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and grab the demo, or better yet, purchase the full game. Assuming you’ve read this far, here’s a tip! If you want to try and win the full game, you could follow @konami_rocket on Twitter as they’ve been quite generous already.
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