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Rochard
PC Steam & PSN
Recoil Games has a fun time with a gravity
style game in the form of Rochard, a side scrolling space adventure that
gives us simplistic design, though that’s part of its charms. In fact
this charming game reminds me very much like some of LucasArts earlier
works when they dared to be more creative than just Star Wars.
It’s pretty much paint by numbers style of game, it does not grab you by
the throat or anything but it is so darn well fun.
Bringing a mix of side scroll shooting and puzzles to it Rochard, stars
our hero, the every man, an average every day bloke out to make a living
and thrown into circumstance. John Rochard is a space miner. He and his
team are out searching asteroid fields for precious fuel elements for a
corporation. Of course the teams luck of late has not been going so
well. Of course they end up eventually finding something that makes them
a target, enter intergalactic pirates and you have the fine mix for a
side scrolling adventure romp.
If this where a movie, it would be termed a popcorn movie, one of those
stories that has nothing really deep going for it, but it is a fun ride
to forget your own troubles for a while.
The
cool thing is players getting top play with gravity, in the form of a
gravity gun. Using this piece of work equipment players manipulate
objects in order to solve puzzles. Solving puzzles with anti grav device
can become nail biting for those times that you must move a box or other
item just right to proceed; thankfully the controls seem to be
responsive and very tight. Very refreshing, I was prepared to be
frustrated considering the controls are on the PC and not a game pad,
but the controls are just ducky.
There are also times and certain areas that the player can turn off the
gravity in an area in order for our hero to jump and bound unhindered,
this is a fun perk to plat forming, though that does not mean to be
successful you do not have to be spot on in your jumping and bounding.
You still have to hit it just right to proceed.
Moving
through the game there are several upgrades that can be equipped to the
gravity tool. Later there are explosive attachments, and even a rock
blaster.
The anti-gravity tool can be used for attack and defense, when the thugs
come in shooting lasers, players can pick up a crate with the gravity
tool and block the incoming fire. What is really cool also is that the
tool can then be used for attack, launching the crate at an enemy and
taking them out.
The
puzzles in the game are simple, though that’s also the charm, players do
not have to waste allot of time trying to figure out some massive mind
boggle, while they are simple, they are just enough to be engaging.
The
controls are pleasingly responsive and take no time at all to master,
which is a good thing because there is plenty of platform jumping in
this game. Finish indie studio Recoil Games brought their “A” game with
Rochard. Lowering the gravity in an area with the press of a button and
then bounding along into a jump is ever so satisfying. The game is a
romping good adventure through this interstellar location filled with
industrial drilling rig chambers, pressure pads, force fields, elevators
and other sinking and rising platforms that requires the player to think
a bit on how to get from A to B in most cases.
The
overall atmosphere of the game seems to stumble ever so slightly with
missed opportunities with the characters and story. The look and feel of
the game makes it seem ideal for pithy one liners and comic relief here
and there. You almost expect it from the character design alone, but
Rochard alas misses this mark and seems to force serious dialogue into
the mix. Sure there are some attempts at lightness, but it is over
shadowed by the game dialogue trying to take itself very seriously. Is
this a deal breaker or make the game any less fun? No, just an oddity
that makes you scratch your head and wonder why.
When
it comes down to it though Rochard is a short game well worth the
download and adding to your gaming library, it made me smile, it made me
think, it helped me get away from it all for a while, it is fun, and
that my fellow Impulse Gamers, is what gaming is all about.
Have fun, play games.
Edwin Millheim |
