Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
Review
A Rocketman RPG? What will they think of next?
by Vyle
reviewed on X360
My Kingdom for a Gun!
If it sounds repetitive, then thats because it is. Each level follows near enough the same structure, whether you are using a jet pack, or on foot. This makes subsequent missions feel more like a chore than an enticing challenge. Some levels even employ cheap tactics to lengthen levels, by forcing you to repeat a task multiple times. A special mention goes to the final level that forces you to repeat the same task eight times, when it should only have been four.
In Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, the only real challenge or excitement in the game is keeping hold of the bonus weapons. To begin with, Rocketman is armed with a weak pistol, but as the levels progress, he gains access to sub weapons that can be selected with the bumper buttons. These range from rockets to mines, grenades and gun turrets. Most of these weapons feel ineffective and weedy, with only the turrets providing any real value. This doesnt matter, though, as Rocketman also has access to powerful guns, and youll be using them a lot.
The guns appear as floating icons, either sitting in the field, or where enemies have been defeated. Once a gun has been collected, it swaps out the pistol. This gives you timed use of the superior firepower. With the guns being timed, it means that -should you collect your favourite weapon just before a dry enemy spell- the gun is wasted. You will go into battle with your pea shooter. With the random nature of enemy drops, this happens frustratingly often. Sometimes, though, weapon drops will be plentiful enough to give you a smooth run through a whole level with no problems.
Lessons in frustration
Random item drops and iffy design aside, the biggest obstacle in the way of Rocketmen: Axis of Evils quest to be excellent is the scrolling. The screen scrolls with a mind of its own, seeming to move a set amount when you reach a certain trigger point. This often results in powerful weapons being just beyond Rocketmans reach, yet still visible. In Rocketmen: Axis of Evil, so much happens just off screen that levels can become lessons in frustration.
This is only made worse in multiplayer. Rather than double the enemies and pickups, the game keeps the same of both, resulting in levels where players are fighting over weapon drops which are being made inaccessible by the seemingly spiteful scrolling that pushes your progress, whether you like it or not.
The game pushes this as a competitive mode, but victory feels like luck. As such, winning gives no sense of satisfaction or accomplishment. During the review period, finding anything more than one person to play on live at a time was difficult. Frequent connection drop-outs further frustrated the experience. With one achievement requiring a four player game on Live, these connection problems are worth noting for any achievement chasers.
Sigh...
Rocket Man is a solid enough, relatively fun game that rewards persistence more than skill. Its let down by a number of creative oversights that should have been picked up in development. The scrolling, repetitive missions and difficult scenery really should have been fixed before release. This is a hard game to recommend with games such as Smash TV and Geometry Wars on XBLA for the same price. For hardcore twin stick shooting fans who want something different, this is worth a look, but be warned that the stubborn scrolling is a real game breaker.
6.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
