As the second Xbox Live Arcade title from Bizarre Creations -- creators of Geometry Wars -- and the first Arcade title published by Electronic Arts, Boom Boom Rocket comes with considerable expectations attached to it. Geometry Wars is arguably the best title on Live Arcade and it's certainly one of the best values. It is also one of the most difficult. Boom Boom Rocket, by comparison, is a much simpler affair (for twice the price). Anyone who has played Dance Dance Revolution (or even Guitar Hero to a certain extent) will be instantly familiar with Boom Boom Rocket. As multicolored fireworks race towards a line at the top of the screen, it is the player's task to press the appropriate buttons as they pass the bar to the beat of the music. See, simple.
Boom Boom Rocket mixes up the formula slightly by sending fireworks in multiple directions, rather than straight up as in DDR. Half the challenge is seeing which firework will cross the line next. Thanks to the varying trajectories, the firework that appears on screen first won't necessarily be the first to cross the line. When multiple button combinations are flying all at once, it can get pretty hectic. Another edition to the DDR formula is the Bonus Run feature. Once your Bonus Bar is full, the Bonus Run can be activated with a pull of either trigger. This bumps the point multiplier up to x16 and makes your fireworks have more dazzling explosions. It's a simple addition, but it makes those moments a little more thrilling.
The trial version comes with two songs, "Rave New World" and "Hall of the Mountain Dude." "Rave New World" offers easy or medium difficulty while "Hall of the Mountain Dude" is only available in hard. Why exactly EA and Bizarre decided to limit difficulty selections we're not really sure, but there it is. It should be noted though that "Hall of the Mountain Dude," even on hard, was easily manageable after a few tries. Boom Boom Rocket allows the benefit of memorization, something that Geometry Wars does not, making it easier to beat higher levels of difficulty. In other words, once you memorize a song's inputs, the difficulty basically evaporates.
Now, the obvious question, is it worth 800 points? Honestly, what's in the trial version wasn't enough to make us plunk down the cash, though it's probably worth it for some. The accessibility factor alone will make it a worthwhile purchase for many, as even moderately skilled players -- non-gamers, spouses, etc. -- should be able to have some fun with Boom Boom Rocket. Like Geometry Wars, Boom Boom Rocket basically typifies the Live Arcade mantra: quick entertainment that's easy to pick up and play. At 400 points, we'd say buy it right now. As it stands, you'd best download the trial version and see for yourself.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-11-2007 @ 2:53PM
Pasz said...
Great game, I was on the fence for buying it and happy i did, racing for number one on the leaderboard is the only thing that will keep you into this game,if your good, if your not, than think twice about this game because with no online multiplayer and not enough song, there not alot to kepp most people intrested
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 3:06PM
natef said...
I wasn't planning on getting this one but after the trial I decided to plop down the 10 bucks and buy it.
I'm definitely glad I did! While there are only 10 songs, there are 3 difficulties which are quite a bit different from each other for each song. Also, there is a really fun endurance mode which keeps getting progressively faster. And leaderboards! This is the perfect game for leaderboards, especially the endurance mode.
As the poster stated, for 5 bucks its a sure thing, but for 10 you should try it first.
P.S. the songs in the full version are all better than the 2 trial songs IMO. It also depends on what you like, so give it a try!
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 3:12PM
HazyCloud said...
I really love the fact you can choose songs from your media library and the fireworks move along with the music. I've found myself a new visualization for my music. This alone is worth the 800 points to me.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 3:56PM
Chad said...
Overpriced - no thanks.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 4:17PM
Raydahz said...
#3 - Hazy Cloud
You can do that??? Is it accurate with the beats? Are the arrows still there or is just a nice firework? That alone would make it worth it to me too. Anyone got screenshots of this in action? I'm all over it when I get home.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 4:23PM
a ham sandwich said...
@5
i thought what you thought he said at first too. what he means is you can use your own music as a visualization with fireworks and all, but unfortunately you cant PLAY your own music. its just a pretty screen. :(
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 4:26PM
jigsaw hc said...
I agree on the overpriced vote.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 4:34PM
Outinthedark said...
I gotta say overpriced too for only 10 songs [30 if you count with all the different difficulties] easy 200/200 for me but still glad they weren't my points I spent...
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 4:43PM
Micah said...
no
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 5:03PM
Adam said...
I bought it and im having fun with it...
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 5:04PM
Adam said...
lol
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 6:44PM
Qube said...
I tried the demo, and it failed to grab me on any level... it really felt like a waste of time.
For casual titles, developers can't expect gamers to get attached over time. If a simple game like this doesn't grab you by the balls in the first couple of minutes of the demo, it's finished.
The next Geo Wars? IMO, not likely...
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 6:54PM
Wil said...
Yes... I approve. It's just as awesome as I'd hoped it would be. My sister and I played for 30 minutes together and it was a lot of fun. We'd just be like "OMG I'M MISSING" or "OH CRAP, LOST THE BEAT" and miss dozens at a time.
Single player could get old and likely will.. but multi player is nice. And is has a download content option, so apparently we'll get more songs. Visualizer is pretty sweet also, but that's just icing.
Worth $10? Maybe not if you didn't find the trial semi-fun... they need to drop it to 600 MS points or something, then it'd definitely be worth it. Try the demo.. if you like it or have a sister/girlfriend that likes a DDR knockoff, buy.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 7:38PM
Linnay said...
I'll be using my Xplorer Guitar with this one.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 8:05PM
GRT said...
#12, I'm right there with you. A big part of it, I think was that I hated the songs in the demo... and exploding the rockets didn't feel like it had enough "umph" to it. And honestly, I was expected really spectacular visuals...
Meh. I doubt I'd even buy it at half the price.
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 9:37PM
Pink Chiefette said...
$10 for 10 songs? Dude, thats cheaper than the GHII add on song packs. It looks like an interesting game, but Castlevania would give me more bang for the buck (no pun intended).
Reply
4-11-2007 @ 10:34PM
Grant said...
i bought it about noon today and i couldn't stop playing until i was late for class at about 3, then played for 2 hours later.
It has a really steep learning curve from medium to hard, and getting A's on any of the songs is a shore. miss one note, instant B, get all the notes but don't hit the notes well enough, also a B. It's actually quite frustrating the level of perfection you need to get an A, and you need to do literally perfect for an A**.
One problem i found with the game is in hard mode, the notes can be spread on opposite sides of the screen, and it's really hard to figure out what goes together until they reach the line. It really just turns into a giant mess of fireworks on the screen.
Reply
4-12-2007 @ 1:52AM
Pinhead said...
Cool, but not worth 800 points. It's Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers for gods sake...
Reply
4-12-2007 @ 3:16AM
cg said...
I thought it was complete garbage and it is so bad that I have even deleted the free trial version. I feel they should be giving away stuff like this not charging for it -let alone 800 "points"- (cant we use proper currency??? like adults.... jesus.)
Anyways EA aint gettin their sweaty hands in my wallet this week . Im glad some people like it its a personal opinion only- I thought it was trash. I would like to see more games like castlevania on XBLA.That was worth the money at least to me.
Reply
4-12-2007 @ 5:54AM
Psymon0666 said...
Does no one remember Fantavision? Fantavision was AWESOME, and this game is just as awesome. If Fantavision was worth $10, I say it's totally worth the points.
Plus the firework visualization IS really damn cool.
Reply