Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Price: 800 MSP / $10 USD
ESRB: Everyone



CodeGlue proved that retro is still stylish by bringing us the amazing pixelated experience known as Rocket Riot on the Xbox Live Arcade. Both them and myself were also lucky that I had enough points collecting dust in my account at the time (even though I don't regret the purchase at all, it's just that I was a bit skeptical at first as I thought it would get old fast which was definitely not the case).

Gameplay:
If you've ever played one of those 2D online deathmatch games you know how hectic it can get, imagine that but with super awesome destructible pixel battlefields and a bunch of crazy enemies that all die one shot (excluding the bosses) such as pandas, ninjas, pirates and Star Wars inspired robots. The controls are very simple, move with the left stick and aim with the right stick (let go of it to let the rocket rip). As for the weaponry, you only have a rocket launcher at your disposable but there's plenty of powerups around the map that can enhance (or impair) the experience. A nice detailed chart can be found HERE. If you're too lazy to look at the chart, just remember this: avoid the red, get the green. I'd also recommend to pick up either the 3 rocket powerup or the radar as both are pretty lethal in the right hands.

As for the storyline, I honestly didn't pay much attention to it as I was too busy blasting everyone in sight with my rockets however, your ultimate goal seems to be to take down some Blockbeard fellow who's a giant blocky pirate (last boss). Rocket Riot's campaign mode offered 80 levels which were easy for the most part although there's at least 10 levels that will most likely result in a combination of several in-game deaths as well as some not-so E-rated arguments with your television screen. In terms of repetitiveness, the levels in the campaign are fairly varied and not all of them involve killing a flock of enemies (although most do and as the level increases, so does the amount of enemies), some of them require you to find hidden objects while others might be a fun match of Rugby Riot which is pretty much capture the flag disguised as rugby except that instead of retrieving a flag to your goal, you're fetching a football (note: you can't shoot while holding the ball, you need to drop it first and then pick it up again before it respawns in it's original spot). In addition to the campaign there are two other modes, endurance and multiplayer (online/offline). Endurance is basically an endless version of campaign without any bosses which is a good time waster after you've completed the campaign.

Now for the multiplayer, unfortunately at the time of writing this review, the Rocket Riot online community seemed to have been rather silent as I haven't been able to find a match in the past couple of days. However, when the game was first released I actually did encounter a handful of players and had a good time playing it. I also remember one of the players who was probably the age of 12 at max yelling "I want Horny, I want Horny" and finding it hilarious as I thought he was just going through his "phases" but later on I discovered that he was referring to a character named Horny which he wanted to unlock by defeating the player who used him as that's how you unlock characters although you can also unlock them in the campaign via this same method. So yeah, good job with the names CodeGlue, I'm sure ESRB is very proud.

Also, before I move onto the next segment I'd like to point out that the destructible environment regenerates after a while which is sometimes annoying when playing something like Rugby Riot as it's quite common to make shortcuts of your own and it sucks to be rushing back to the goal only to find yourself dropping the ball in order to remake the path. However, the auto regeneration is essential or else the level will be rather dull without the awesome pixelated environment.

Graphics & Audio:
As I've stated several times before, the pixel graphics are awesome. If you're looking for ultrarealistic 3D environments, look elsewhere. As for the audio, the music is fairly good and can get stuck in your head after a while. The sound effects are also nice, nothing spectacular but nonetheless, get the job done.

Replay value:
If the Rocket Riot online community is revived once again, the replay value will flourish as well but even if that doesn't occur (which I hope is not the case) the leaderboards will give you something to strive for especially the one for endurance as in theory, you could get up to like level 500 if you had the time and skill for it. If I remember correctly the highest reported level so far is like 212 at the time of this review so get to it! If you constantly have friends over your house and have enough controllers, you could bring the online fun to your offline couch easily as the game's easy to learn. Just be sure to tell your friends to get the red powerups to assure your victory (this is a joke, of course). And if you don't give a crap about the leaderboards, then endurance is still fun and a good way to pass the time. You could always take on the bosses again as well if you're up for the challenge or if you find that the game is becoming too easy, purposely pick up the red powerups and see how well you do.

Overall:
I'm looking forward to either some DLC (hopefully free) or a sequel to this game as well as any future game that CodeGlue releases as I really enjoyed Rocket Riot and can proudly say that I got all the achievements on it. But there were some issues with it and as such I think a pros/cons chart might be appropriate followed by my rating:

Pros:
+Reasonable difficulty (despite it being frustrating at times)
+Awesome "retro" graphics
+Fun online/offline multiplayer
+Leaderboards
+Fair price & good replay value

Cons:
-No AI bots for the multiplayer modes, a custom Rugby Riot match with bots would have been nice
-Campaign did NOT support offline/online co-op
-Endurance mode did NOT support online co-op
-Character customization was rather limited (selection was nice though as there were a lot of characters to choose from)

With that said, I give Rocket Riot a 8/10. I hope that if a sequel is released that those cons I mentioned turn into pros. Also, a level editor would be nice as well but perhaps that's pushing it a bit...

Note: If the game would have had at least one of the first 3 cons addressed I would have given it at least an 8.5 (maybe even a 9) instead as it would have significantly improved the replay value.