It may be called Rocketmen, but sadly Elton John is not featured in this game.
- Game: Rocketmen: Axis of Evil
- Developer: A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games
- Price: 800MS Points ($9.99)
- Release Date: 3/5/2008
Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is basically Smash TV with an attempt to add a story and RPG elements. What Puzzle Quest does for Bejewelled, Rocketmen does for Smash TV. I have to say that every time I play this game I can’t help but think of my friend Rob (aka Elton John), he is quite the rocketman! “I'm not the man they think I am at home; Oh no, no, no I'm a rocket man”, sorry I couldn’t help myself.
The game succeeds for the most part, but there are a few things holding it back. The story is garbage, but thankfully you can skip every part of it. It’s an extremely generic story where you go out to rescue some helpless people and save some world and…blah, blah, blah. Awful attempts at humor and disappointing cut-scenes don’t help Rocketmen either. Then come the controls; the camera can be an absolute nuisance at times. You may have a certain side quest that you are unable to fulfill because the camera won’t budge and allow you to get to where you need to be. I personally didn’t find that to be a huge problem, but for some it may very well damper the experience.
Graphically the game is good and has a nice style to it, but many enemies are recycled during the course of the game. It features a decent create-a-character system where you can even make a female character appear nude (skin colored suits). I have to say that your character has one of the weirdest walking animations I’ve ever seen; it’s really weird that no one noticed this during development. Just imagine how someone would walk while fighting aliens and fighting a weak bladder at the same time. The game runs really smooth and I never experienced any slow-down, even during online play. Speaking of online play, my experience was that half of the players are serious and the other half doesn’t shoot, grabs all the loot, and are just plain douches...basically making it like all online games.
The game-play is solid and works just like Smash TV or similar games. You move around with the left stick and fire your weapon with the right stick. The difficulty is a problem as I found it to be extremely unbalanced. In the beginning the game may seem hard, but once you get through a few of the levels and raise your stats you will soon find the game to be very easy. You start out each level with just a pistol and you can get weapon upgrades (which last for about 15 seconds) such as shotguns, machine guns and a razor gun. Other power-ups include shields and speed upgrades; nothing out of the ordinary. Also, there are “minerals” scattered in objects and all around the world that are used to upgrade your armor and weapons, as well as giving you storable power-ups.
The game is fun for a few playthroughs, but after you’ve fully leveled up your character you’ll find the game too easy and just plain boring. As much as I loved the game and had a blast playing through it initially; I can’t recommend it unless you’re really dying for a new Smash TV-type of game. It’s a good game, but it’s just not a great game.
