It’s always nice to head back to the hazy days of 16-bit gaming once in a while, and to be honest, I don’t know why the big companies who have been around for a while don’t rummage through their back catalogue more often to see what they can resurrect. Now, Rocket Knight Adventures was never really as huge a hit as some of Konami’s other better known platformers, like the Tiny Toons stuff, Probotector and Castlevania, but it still held its own when it needed to. Moving forward to the present day sees Climax bring back Sparkster in a totally new Rocket Knight story, but is it one that should be left in the history books or are we to be happy that it has been given a new lease of life?
Well, for a start it’s rather nice to look at. It has that slightly rough around the edges cartoon look, but is so extremely colourful that it becomes very hard not to look and be pleased at the result. It almost hankers back to the SNES days of the original. Everything in a graphical sense is very vibrant and screams fun to you. The 14 levels are nicely spread out in terms of location and in the way they play and I do have to say that it takes you back if you’re indeed an older gamer. In a way it looks like a blend of the original’s gameplay mixed in with some visuals taken from something like Crash Bandicoot’s original outing on the Playstation 1, which results in a nicely working formula.
Even the sound is like a throwback to memories of a greater day (well, for me anyway, but then I am of a more mature age nowadays). Perhaps it is because I have those rose tinted glasses blinding my vision, I don’t know, but I like the music, as it does have that slight plinky, old-school style about it. Even the pause noise is a homage to the original Konami pause sound on the 16-bit carts (that’s slightly disturbing you know that – Ed). There is a real feel of tender loving care with this, and that is always nice to see, especially when there really aren’t so many of these being passed over to us via the online stores anymore.
Thankfully Climax has also kept the gameplay firmly rooted in the yesteryear section. Left to right platform action with a few jumps and some shoot ’em up style sections in-between help to mix things up well enough to keep the tediousness away, but the amount of time it can take to finish Rocket Knight Adventures may well have a negative effect on all of this. The sad truth is that nowadays 1200 Microsoft points are expected to get you a lot of game for your buck when it comes to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. For the most part it does, as titles like Shadow Complex have shown. Heck, even the CoD Maps have given people countless hours of reinvigorated killing. I’m all for this style of game coming back through this medium, but when the first world can be taken out in less than half an hour, it makes you wonder just how much value for money you will get.
There are extras, such as leaderboards and a stage select, to see if you can beat your time for previous attempts, but that is it as much as multiplayer offerings go. For a game like this though, you’re not really expecting an online platform fest with your friends. There isn’t a great deal that can be done in this department, so you can’t really blame anyone for this problem, but maybe even some collectable items found in small places within some levels would have perhaps taken the sting off of the poisonous tail of judgement.
The control system is very intuitive and easy to use. You will feel yourself blasting off and slashing enemies in no time at all, and that is always a brilliant positive to have. Too many games of this genre have been guilty of erratic controls over the years, I mean, just look at the 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games. Keeping it simple with the way things are done is no mean feat, as some companies want to make their games feel old, but with so many new and modern twists and modifications that you never feel like it’s the same again.
Sure, the story is a bit paper thin and in some ways rather predictable, but in a way that is its charm. Mario has been getting away with rescuing a Princess who really shouldn’t be allowed keys for the house for well over 20 years, so there is no need to create a cracking story, mainly because of what style of title we have. All you need to know is that Sparkster’s home world gets invaded and he’s called out of retirement to save the world.
Rocket Knight is a really nice throwback to what a fair few of us grew up with. It might not have the depth and the XP and levelling up required to fit in with most other things online these days, but who cares? This is harmless, unadulterated fun and that is more important than most things in a gaming sense. The graphics are lovely, the sound is smile inducing (especially for those reminiscing about older times) and the gameplay is just a smooth as ever. The only negative is the length of the game, but I suppose older platform games were never renowned for their multiple day finishing. If you are an expert in the field you will start it with GMTV and have it done by Loose Women. The kids amongst us may well take longer, but WHATEVER amount of time it takes to get through Rocket Knight, one thing is for certain, and that is the sheer amount of innocent enjoyment you will get from it whilst playing it.
I think 800 points would have been slightly more enticing, but nevertheless, the 1200 points tag is still worth the grabbing to get a hold of a proper blast from the past.
VideogameUK verdict: 7.5/10
