Rocket Knight
PlayStation 3
Nostalgia Factor:
I remember downloading a demo for this game on the PS3 back when it first came out in 2010. I played through the demo and thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. I remember thinking: "huh. I need to check this game out." But I never did.
In 2022, I decided to play Rocket Knight Adventures for the Sega Genesis. I had missed out on this game as a kid, but as a 40 year old I finally got to play it for the first time ever. You can check out my review here. Long story short, I thought it was terrific.
I know there are some 16-bit sequels to Rocket Knight Adventures that I still need to check out, but now is not the time for that. Now is the time to skip ahead and play through Rocket Knight for the PS3. Why this game, you may ask? Because it is in the PS Plus Premium streaming catalog, and my subscription ends in less than a month. Gotta play it before it's too late! I'll play those 16-bit sequels some day, I promise.
Story:
This game has a story? You could completely skip over anything story related in this game and it wouldn't matter one tiny bit. Does anyone remember the story for the original Mario or Sonic games? No, because they are irrelevant. Just like this game's story.
As I said, I haven't played the last couple entries in the series. From what I am able to gather, Sparkster has been living a peaceful quiet life that he is yanked out of when some invading enemy forces attack a nearby town. The rest of the game is you fighting back against these forces. Yippee.
Gameplay:
This a very easy game to pick up and play. It's a 2D platformer. You move, you jump, you fire a weak short range weapon, and you slice with your sword. You also have the dash move, which was brought back from the original game. Mastering the dash move is key to beating this game. Not only does it damage enemies, you have to use it to bounce off walls and reach areas you wouldn't be able to reach normally.
There is not much to say about this title's gameplay. It's fine. There is nothing special about it. There is nothing special about the game as a whole, to be honest. It's a standard 2D platformer. It's not great, but it doesn't suck either. It just is.
In addition to the platforming stages, there are stages where you fly through the air and shoot enemies. Nothing special here either. In fact, these stages are absurdly easy. The boss battles are nothing to write home about either. Again: everything about this game just screams middle of the road.
There are 14 stages in total. I beat the game in about 2 hours. Maybe a little less than that. Now that I've beaten the game, I don't see much of a reason to come back to it. Ever. Not that the game is bad, don't get me wrong. It's just so remarkably average that it's almost like they tried to make it as mid as possible.
Ugh. I just said mid. What am I, 12?
This game is a mixed bag when it comes to graphics. At first glance, it seems bright, cartoonish, colorful, and fun. As you play through the game you begin to realize just how similar all the stages look, and how bland they can be. It's as if the makers of the game tried to make this entire game as mediocre as humanly possible. Well, they succeeded.
Sound:
Stop me if I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. The sound isn't bad, it is just nothing memorable whatsoever. It is very middle of the road. *sigh*
The first game had such a fun and upbeat soundtrack, similar to what you'd hear in a Sonic game. I don't even remember anything about this game's music, and I just finished it last night. That should tell you all you need to know.
Overall:
It seems like the developers didn't put much effort into making this game any good, so I'm not going to put much more effort into this review. This is about as OK of a game you can get. I never had a bad time with it, but I never had a great time either. In 2 years, heck - in 2 months, I will look back on this game and struggle to remember much of anything about it. It's that forgettable.
Since it is so average all across the board, I feel as if there is no more appropriate score to give it than a....
THE GRADE:
C
Can't wait to check out the 16-bit sequels to the original game!
For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click
>HERE<
No comments:
Post a Comment