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Rocketmen: Axis of Evil Review for PlayStation 3

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil Review for PlayStation 3

Thumbs of Justice

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is a kooky, top-down, RPG shooter for the Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network. The game’s use of dual analog sticks to move, strafe, and shoot is a tried and true scheme reminiscent of classic arcades such as Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV. The inane plot that slowly unfolds will have you button-mashing your way through the comic-like storyboards, but the simple pleasure of filling over-sized, green Martians with searing hot lasers is surprisingly satisfying. However, like most arcade games, there really is only a few hours of fun to be had before your shiny new purchase becomes tarnished by repetition.

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil screenshot

rocketmenhas mastered the feel of arcade titles of old. The storyline pits gamers against hordes of aliens via a rebel alliance, but never really establishes the root of why you’re fighting. The developers have opted to abandon a more involved story in order to focus on the frantic action. As a result, the shallow plot and sheer amount of creatures that must be destroyed along the way is most readily compared to Gauntlet. This makes gameplay fast and furious but also quite monotonous.

If you were hoping for more than just a straightforward arcade shoot-’em-up, then rocketmenis not what you’re looking for. The levels are simple, mostly linear, designs that don’t hold much mystery. You’ll be able to blaze a trail to glory in no time. If you die, you’ll just respawn with only a slight deduction of experience points that becomes more prohibitive the more you die. As such, this is probably a great game for a ten year-old who wants to blow things up and actually beat a game. On the other hand, for adults it’s pretty mind-numbing stuff that will have you yawning quickly. Furthermore, anyone who plays this title will immediately notice the frustrating camera that forcefully pushes your character out of the reach of valuable side objectives, weapons lockers, and health circles. I can only assume the development team wanted players to concentrate on the fast-paced action, but inevitably gamers want to be able to loot every nook and cranny. The game won’t let you do that, and it’s unfortunate.

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil screenshot

rocketmendoes do several things quite well, however. In fact, I expect that they should serve to help make the game a retail success. One of those nuggets of goodness is the large array of weaponry. The varied weapons are efficient and satisfying to use. It’s fun to blast your way through a throng of enemies with methodical efficiency. Players will find a ton of interesting primary and secondary weapons throughout the levels including lasers, shotguns, razors (ricocheting circular saw blades), turrets, and grenades, but they will only be able to stock up on the secondary arms. This isn’t so bad except for the fact that the cool weapons don’t last nearly long enough. Enemies will constantly drop primaries, but they stop functioning within several seconds after picking them up. There is no ammunition totals to worry about, but the speed with which the higher quality weapons fade gets annoying until you’ve been able to sufficiently modify your weapons skills.

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil screenshot

That leads us to another nice feature of the title. The character creation and development system incorporates some mild RPG-like elements to make the game more interesting. This system allows players to leave their mark on the experience and gives them a sense of accomplishment.

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil screenshot

At the outset, the character customization seems pretty paltry. Players will be able to select between three strangely similar races: Rebel (human), Mercurian or Venusian. From there, players can then choose from three classes including Warrior, Engineer or Outcast. These selections affect the appearance of your character but not much else. Thankfully, as you advance through the levels, you will accumulate experience points, carbon, titanium, and newtonium, which can be spent to upgrade your skills, armor, primary, and secondary weapons respectively. Increasing your character’s speed and munitions expertise can prove to be extremely useful the further you progress. Choosing a few of your favorite weapons early on and seriously beefing up their rate of fire and the amount of damage they deal will help you to mow through the legions of aliens that thwart your advance. This mechanic helps to separate the game from others in the genre, and A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. did a good job of implementing it.

Though the single player campaign is somewhat questionable, this game is best experienced when in multiplayer mode in either a local or online co-op match. The multiplayer feature is a good one, and many of the camera issues disappear when there are four squad members covering every bit of the screen, and it’s just a lot more fun to see who can kill more expertly. Additionally, connecting is easy and there is no sign of lag or framerate jitters of any kind. Mowing down the Axis of Evil is a simple pleasure when you’ve got three other buddies to laugh with on the couch or over the internet.

The graphics are very clear and colorful. The playable characters, enemies, and bosses are all interesting to look at and nicely capture the cartoon / comic book feel. Again, there are no frame rate issues to worry about, and the sense of carnage is sweetly portrayed. Unfortunately, the sounds and voiceover work is only passable. The sounds and voice acting get the job done, but they add nothing substantive to the experience. The developers tried to write funny dialogue, but after all it just comes off as a bit cheesy. Happily, the controls are far superior and do a great job of getting you through the action. You’ll move your character around and strafe by tilting the left analog stick. In order to fire, you’ll simply tilt the right analog stick toward your enemies. This scheme of using dual analog sticks to move, strafe, and shoot is a tried and true method to which any old-school, arcade gamer will quickly latch on.

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is a mindless romp that is probably worth the ten dollar price of admission. If you’re expecting a title that will provide you with lasting appeal, then you will be sorely disappointed. rocketmenreally only provides you with a few hours of fun as the overly simple level design and unforgiving camera quickly grow tiresome. It is a decent shooter that looks crisp and is an enjoyable way to kill time with a few friends.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
Graphics are solid as they nicely capture the cartoon / comic book feel. 4.2 Control
Controls are simple and slick. The use of dual analog sticks to move, strafe, and shoot is a tried and true scheme reminiscent of Robotron: 2084 and Smash TV. 2.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sounds and voice acting get the job done, but add nothing substantive to the experience. 2.6 Play Value
The game is fun for a couple hours, tops! Veteran arcade gamers will find this shooter trite as it is far better suited to a different era and a younger audience. 3.1 Overall Rating – Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Customize your character: Create, customize, and level up your own individual rocketmencharacters with new items, abilities, and looks.
  • Multiplayer action: Join with friends to save the galaxy in four-player cooperative play locally or online.
  • Choose from three races: Human, Mercurian or Venusian, and from three classes: Warrior, Engineer or Outcast.
  • Explosive action: Simple, addictive, and highly explosive gameplay blasts onto your TV in high-definition with plenty of levels, hordes of enemies, and lots of fun.

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