by Michael Riley

Created on: February 05, 2009   Last Updated: February 09, 2009

The Adventures of Rick Rocket by My Game Company is a decent action game that will definitely hold your attention. I played it for the entire 60 minute trial and really enjoyed the experience.

When starting the game you are directed to the opening screen which allows you to select different players or create your own. Pretty standard stuff. You have the option of changing players, viewing instructions, selecting options or playing the game.

The instructions provided under the appropriate tab are well written and encompass everything you will need to successfully play the game. The instructions describe how to move your rocket and shoot your weapons. This is done with your keyboard's arrow keys and space bar or you can use a joystick. Getting the hang of using the arrow keys only takes a few minutes.

Included in the instructions is a list of "Power Ups" that are available while playing the game. Some of them include; shields, repairs, bonus stars (for more points), armor, multi-fire, a spray function which allows 360 degree firing, atomic energy, and even an electro-magnetic pulse weapon. Pretty cool.

One of the best features of the instructions are the hints that are given. Like, when your rocket is destroyed all of your Power Ups are dumped in one spot. When you get in your new rocket you can go back to that spot and retrieve them. Their location is displayed on your heads-up display so they are easy to find.

There is also an Options tab that allows you to change the music level, sound level, skill level and either use full or partial screen. I played on the medium level and it was just right for starting out. The sound track has enough variety so that it is not monotonous at all. Kind of a Star Wars theme to it. Your rocket makes sounds along with the enemy ships so together the music and sound effects kind of balance each other out. You will be focused on protecting your rocket anyway. You probably won't be paying any attention to the music.

The game play consists of moving your rocket through different chapters that each have their own challenges and goals. The trial game has 8 chapters while the full game has 48. I would imagine that the full game would keep you busy for quite some time.

Each chapter has different obstacles to work your way through. The first chapter, Mysterious Meteors, has you destroy a series of meteors that are on their way to Earth. This was a pretty easy level, just like the old Asteroids game.

I thought I was going to be disappointed since it was pretty basic but the next level, Lunar Landers, was totally different. Here you have to battle enemy spaceships and protect your mother ship. It was entertaining. While the game does not have any innovative features that I haven't seen before, I think the creativity of the scenarios, power ups and the story line within each chapter is very good.

The next 6 chapters were equally challenging and kept me coming back for more. By the time I got to Chapter 5, it was getting difficult to stay alive and destroy the enemy ships. I thought the variety of ships and enemies was very good. Although the graphics aren't spectacular, they are decent, very crisp and appropriate for the game play. If you have your screen graphics on a high resolution, the game will automatically shift to a lower res. It switches back when you exit the game.

All in all, I think this is a really good game. It is definitely addictive and will keep you coming back for more. I give it a 4/5.

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