Boom Boom Rocket Review

[bassmadrigal]

I posted this on another forum, but that forum will be going away later today, so I wanted to keep record of this. So here you go:

Well... this review has been a long time in the making. I have had this game since November, and I still can't quit playing it (and I suck at it). Basically the premise is to hit the corresponding button on your controller when the letter (or arrow depending on how you have it set up) when it reaches a line. What do you get for this?? Well the answer is big explosions. YAY!! But seriously you get some beautifully rendered fireworks with a backdrop of a nighttime city.



Some people may start right off saying... another Guitar Hero, or Dance Dance Revolution. Well somewhat (BBR & DDR... coincidence, I doubt it)... but this changes things. Not only do you have to hit the notes, you also have to hit them within the right time. They have varying degrees of the perfect time. It goes from OK, to good, to Awesome, to Perfect. It is actually a lot harder than it sounds.



During the gameplay, they have one firework per level that has a spinning smoke trail. Hit this one (and finish the level) and you just unlocked a new firework (like the pumpkin shown below). These unlocked fireworks are typically far fetched and not possible with current technology, but they are fun nonetheless.



Now you have a little meter in the upper left corner, and this is your multiplier (sound familiar??). It goes from 1x to 4x normally. Once you max it out with the 4x your bar will start sparking back and forth. This means you can use your bonus. This temporarily takes your multiplier to 16x and gives you an extra 50,000 points per firework that you detonate. Also the city changes into a surreal set, and the fireworks are really big and fun (and you can see shockwaves).



This may sound fairly simple, but there are a couple of difficulties. First depending on the level the fireworks come fast and plentiful, so you better be quick with your fingers. Second, everytime you miss a firework, your bonus meter drops. And once your meter is empty, so have failed the song. Don't fret though. There is a practice mode, which allows you to slow it down so you can get some much needed practice. Another mode in the game is Endurance. Basically the song starts out as normal, but gradually speeds up. I think it maxes out at 220 bpm (beats per minute, which is really fast). Once the song finishes, it will just start over again until your meter runs out.

Now I am sure some people just have a knack for games like this. I am not one of them. I have had this game for over 3 months (plus I was playing the demo since October), and I still am not that great. Only recently (the past couple of days), have I actually been able to complete some of the songs on hard (5 out of 15). And even with that, I wasn't doing so hot with them. But it is a game I truly enjoy, so I don't mind that I suck at it. Eventually I hope to finish all the levels on hard (although I won't hold my breath). The simplicity of this game is what keeps bringing me back. If you want to kill 10-15 minutes, you can just do a couple of songs.

Now on to the good stuff. The songs. The original game comes with 10 songs. Each song is a classical song, but it has been remixed into modern styles (Techno, funk, etc). The were remixed by Ian Livingston who did the sound track for Batman Begins (awesome soundtrack btw). Here are the songs in the game followed by their classical counterparts.

Smooth Operetta -- The Flower Duet
Rave New World -- Symphony No. 9
William Tell Overload -- William Tell Overture
Hall of the Mountain Dude -- Hall of the Mountain King
1812 Overdrive -- 1812 Overture
Valkyries Rising -- Ride of the Valkyries
Tail Light Sonata -- Moonlight Sonata
Carmen Electric -- Carmen
Game Over Beethoven -- Symphony No. 5
Toccata and Funk -- Toccata and Fugue

Then on November 30th, they released 5 new songs. They were free at the time, but I believe they charge for them now. Still worth it in my book. These songs are remixed into rock songs.

Eine Kleine Rochtmusik -- Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Cannon in D -- Pachelbel's Canon
Sugar High -- The Nutcracker
Sting of the Bumble Bee -- Flight of the Bumblebee
Explode to Joy -- Ode to Joy

I will end this review with a video from youtube of the song Game Over Beethoven on Hard. I still can't do this. Not even remotely close.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/avAWRxN4EbE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/avAWRxN4EbE</a>

[bassmadrigal]

So... I was bored today and googling my name and came across this post. I figured I would post an update.

I have now finished 8 out of 10 of the regular songs, and 2 out of 5 songs out of the rock pack on hard. I have also unlocked all those firework types. I am still not proficient at most the songs on hard, but I at least have my name on the scoreboard. I also was able to complete the Beethoven song on hard. YAY!! I was actually able to get an "A" rating on "Hall of the Mountain Dude". That was a long and time-consuming process. So I only have 3 achievements left for this.

Unlock all firework types. - I am hoping this just includes the original songs rather than including the rock pack. Because then I would only need to complete 2 more songs. Otherwise I would have to complete 5. Worth 25 points.

Complete 5 laps on a song on hard difficulty in Endurance mode - This will take me a while. I haven't finished a 3rd lap on any of the songs in hard. Worth 30 points.

Get an "A" rating on all medium songs. - Yeah... this will take a while. I can easily get through all the songs, but that "A" rating is pretty difficult to achieve on any difficulty. I don't even have all A's for the easy difficulty. Worth 50 points.

I don't think I ever touched on the achievements for this game.

Get an "A" rating on each difficulty - This is actually 3 different achievements, but it is easier to write it out as one. Worth 10, 15 and 20 points per difficulty.

Bonus Schmonus - Activate your bonus run. Really easy. If you can't do this, you shouldn't be playing the game. Worth 5 points.

The "C" Student - Achieve a "C" rating or better on 10 songs. Most of the time you will complete songs with at least a "C". Worth 15 points.

Speeding Ticket - Complete 3 laps on a medium song in Endurance mode. Pretty self-explanatory. Worth 5 points.

Pyro - Achieve 100% hit ratio on any song. Just takes some practice. Worth 10 points.

Johnny Three Fingers - Unlock your first firework type. Just look for that swirling rocket trail and make sure you hit it. The will be randomly placed. Should unlock it within the first couple of times of playing a song. Worth 5 points.

Curtain Call - Complete 10 songs. This should come with the C Student one. Worth 10 points.

For those of you who don't understand the whole Achievement thing, Roosterteeth (the makers of Red vs Blue) have an excellent video explaining the benefits of having achievements. It is below.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/mdZC5LJswFE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/mdZC5LJswFE</a>

So Dustin... go out and get this game. And anyone else who reads this.

[Justin]

Very nice game review.  I believe we have found our new XBLA Reviewer.  haha

[bassmadrigal]

Very nice game review.  I believe we have found our new XBLA Reviewer.  haha

If you want to pay me money to buy all the XBLA games, then I would be more than happy to review them.