GAME OVERVIEW
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Ratloop Asia
Genre: Casual, Puzzle, Side-Scrolling Action
👍 Pros: Good soundtrack (music by indie band New World Revolution), easy to get into – not a high learning curve, classic run-and-gun style with platform puzzles, great story.
👎 Cons: Not a visual wonder but the animation style suits the game’s style/story, controls are a little wonky need some time to familiarize yourself with button layouts, PlayStation only – sorry XBL/PC gamers.
✅ Bottom Line:
Oh, what do we have here? A download only title for the PlayStation Network about a chicken? Sure, at first it looks kid friendly; our hero is chicken caricature of an 80’s/90’s action hero and the enemies – they’re PENGUINS for gadget’s sake! And then you get started; a few minutes into the game you come across your first enemy and you juggle a penguin guard across the screen leaving a trail of blood splattered along the walls.
It’s at this moment that you realize that this isn’t what you expected and it’s most definitely not one that you’ll let the kiddies get a hold of. That said, Ratloop Asia managed to produce a game that is far from overly gory and definitely is a throwback to other great action-platformers like (my childhood favorite) Contra.
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is something of an anomaly in the video gaming world. It employs a run-and-gun style with just enough of a puzzle aspect to keep the action fresh and prevent a sense of repetitiveness that often plagues other games in the genre. In terms of visuals, Rocketbirds offers what we can expect from a download-only game on current gen platforms; it’s no Modern Warfare but then again it’s really not trying to be.
If there was a complaint to be had it has to be familiarizing yourself with the game controls. Often times I found myself having to guess where my character would end up after a jump. The rocket pack portions of the game also seemed to suffer slightly from an oversensitive thumb stick; that said you will adjust for it and move on.
Rocketbirds’ greatest feature however, is it’s storyline. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and focuses on giving the gamer a fun and interesting story. After all who doesn’t love the campy action flicks of the early 90’s? Just being a couple chapters deep in the story and you’ll find trouble pulling yourself away from the game long enough to remain a productive member of society. Rocketbirds’ combination of retro styling and great storytelling make this a must have for your PlayStation 3.
You can pick up New World Revolution’s “Rockbirds: Hardboiled Chicken” Soundtrack on iTunes, and don’t forget to check out Vitto’s review as well!
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