by Emele Maisey

Created on: February 04, 2009   Last Updated: April 01, 2009

Rating 1/5

You play Rick Rocket, a pilot whose mission is to fly the X-01 rocket through outer space and defend planet earth from a mysterious alien fleet. With 48 space battle missions and 30 unique ships this old school space shooter game sounds like fun.

Shoot asteroids and alien enemy ships using the arrow keys and space-bar, defend the lunar space station and collect lost rockets as you pilot your rocket around Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and beyond. Each level has a different mission with various obstacles to work through, each one getting harder as the game progresses.

The game is set out into chapters with a comic-book story line explaining your next mission brief from your space commander and what is expected of you. Successfully complete each mission and you will receive a medal enabling you to carry on the game to find out why the aliens are attacking.

The on-screen display shows your score with a rocket indicating the health of your craft. A gauge fills with blue to show your shield status. When the ship icon starts to fill with red it means your ship is damaged - If it completely fills with red beware warning bells will sound and your ship will explode! To stop this catastrophe from happening dodge the asteroids, or shoot them up to destroy them, and try not to get hit too many times by the enemy!

The map in the upper right shows your location, where the enemies are plus where the power-ups can be found all of which are represented by different colored dots. The map as well as an arrow pointing you where to go help you to navigate your way through space without travelling for miles in the wrong direction!

Power ups and bonuses are available which include bonus stars for extra points, ship repair, a shield function, armour, multi-fire weapons, concussion bombs, heat seeking missiles and more.

The action game music made me think of Star Wars while the 2D retro graphics were rather basic with the most exciting thing being damage shown to enemy ships. The plain graphics wouldn't have necessarily been a bad thing if the gameplay had been more fulfilling but sadly it wasn't.

I gave the game such a low rating because as I was playing each level I kept wondering when the fun was going to start. I was bored... and the story-line didn't help matters!

I feel that experienced players who love classic space shooter games will be disappointed with Rick Rocket however kids might get some
enjoyment out of it what with blowing things up and tons of explosions... But I wouldn't purchase it with the $19.99 price tag - There are better space shooter games you can play online for free.

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