Twin stick shooters were all the rage when the Xbox Live Arcade relaunched on the 360. You could solely put this down to Geometry Wars but the placement of the sticks on the new 360 controller just suited the concept. Nearly five years after the re-release of Bizarre’s now classic re-invention of the genre and small Dutch developer, Codeglue are giving the now tiresome genre another entry. Unlike Bizarre though, Codeglue’s take on the genre is much more than simply a stylistic visual filter.
The instantly striking and charming visual style behind the game is what draws you into Rocket Riot. The way the environments have been simplified to an almost 16-bit era block aesthetic while still retaining and making use of current 3D and physics technology is impressive to say the least. The re-generating stages decay in what appears to be a very rigid and predetermined way. Little do you notice that the way they bounce off the luckier segments of the stage that haven’t been blown to smithereens, is one of the more simplistic and sparing uses of a Havok-style physics engine in a long time.
You might not have too much time to ponder the charming visual style though due to the games relentless pace. Twin stick shooters are naturally simple and you’ll feel straight at home, if only after adjusting to the flick mechanic when firing rockets. While a majority of the levels are simply deathmatch scenarios that never let off from the action, the standout stages were the games idiosyncratic representation of sports and activities. We are talking Hide and Seek, Rugby (American Football, if you will) amongst others. These might not all hit the mark but you can forgive inconsistency when there is so much variation on offer. Plus these stages are brief and in the grand scheme of things rarely stumbled upon.
Rocket Riot’s glaring omission is an apparent lack of an online userbase. Despite only being a couple of weeks old the community seems to be barren. It’s a real shame because CodeGlue have created a fantastic interface for you to jump into the online arena along with the often gravely missed, PC circa 1990s, server list.
If competitive online multiplayer isn’t your thing you could opt for some co-op local same-screen endurance. Unless you secretly hate your mates and then the Deathmatch or Golden Guy options will be more to your liking. If multiplayer isn’t your thing altogether then the eighty level campaign mode, playground mode and endurance runs will more than suffice. Needless to say Rocket Riot has it’s fair share of content and modes.
Rocket Riot really has everything in it’s favour with tons of options, modes, charm and variation. While it’s easy to hold the games apparent lack of a community against it, you should really look to play this game their locally or privately online against friends. At this price Rocket Riot is definitely a riot and should be picked up by anyone who still has their faith in the twin stick shooter genre.
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