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SIMILAR GAMES
The Last Rocket (iPhone) Review
by Justin Davis - IGN.com | 12 August 2011 12:00A retro style after my own heart, but is the gameplay there?
The Last Rocket developer Shaun Inman apparently knows that the secret path to the heart of 20 and 30-something gamers is paved with chunky 8-bit pixel art and an excellent chiptune soundtrack full of blips and bloops. In kind, I enjoyed this short 2D puzzler more for its faithful retro style than the actual gameplay itself. The Last Rocket opens with a simple phrase: "Intergalactic War is Over." Good news, right? Not if you're a rocket, I suppose. In The Last Rocket gamers play as an anthropomorphized rocket, trying to escape from a manufacturing ship that's about to crash into a star. The game's 64 short stages are divided into 8 categories, each introducing a new obstacle for players to figure out and overcome – conveyor belts, flame shooters, air vents, etc.
Be careful, little rocket!
The stages feature a mixture of classic puzzle solving, often involving hitting switches, and many are reliant upon old-fashioned twitch dexterity as well. Each stage has several gears strewn about, often in hard-to-reach places, for players looking for more challenge. Collecting them all unlocks the sole means to see the game's best ending, as well. The game really shines in its later stages, when players must combine both brains and fast fingers.
Closing Comments
The Last Rocket is a tough game to review, because it’s short (about 60 minutes), and the puzzles themselves, while competent, aren’t exceptional in any way. Yet at $3, it costs less than I would pay for a standalone version of its 12-track chiptune soundtrack.
If you’re the type of gamer that builds pixel art out of colored post-it notes and listens to Nullsleep, then The Last Rocket is a no-brainer. It’s the best kind of nostalgia trip. With an additional batch of levels and some control refinements, the game would be able to stand among the best on the App Store.
Supplied by IGN.com
