From The Vault: Rocket Power Beach Bandits Review

Subject: Rocket Power Beach Bandits Review   Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:48 am
When I was younger (I'm turning 17 this year mind you so I'm already pretty young) I LOVED Nickelodeon. I loved sitting down in front of my TV and watching episodes of older Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom, The Rugrats, and Jimmy Neutron. But wait, this review is about Rocket Power, so you're probably (maybe not) wondering what I thought of the show and to be honest, I really don't remember too much of it. I mean yeah, I remembered what the characters looked like, and yeah I know the premise, but I really don't remember a single episode of that show. For some reason though, someone bought me this game, and I remember sitting in front of my game shelf wondering what this game would be, assuming it'd probably be as bad as the Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius game I had just finished playing, but nevertheless I was curious as a probably around 8 year old could be. And I really enjoyed it, like REALLY REALLY enjoyed it. I recently started playing all these old games, and because I hadn't played this game in years, I popped it into the ole ps2 and began my journey to find out if 8 year old me was a nutcase that had no taste in games or was right in finding a gem... The first thing you'll notice that may give you some reason to consider turning the game off is the character models which, I mean resemble the characters from the show ok, but the way they move and the way their mouths move when they talk is really awkward. Not to say it's too bad, but sometimes its really kind've distracting. But beyond the first bad thing you'll notice, lets get to the premise of the game shall we? So the Rocket gang er whatever you want to call them are on summer break and are like totally stoked for some surfing some gnarly waves bro! But then they like look at the beach and the sands gone for no reason, so they go up to some politician conveniently having some speech about the sand issue and afterwards, they do what any good American would do...SUSPECT THE POLITICIAN! Anyways, after that they kinda go around and try and find clues to where the sand went and try and save their summer vacation from some major suckage. It seems like a really juvenile plot, and it is, its a kids game, but honestly it goes together quite nicely and I have no really big complaints outside of some nitpicking. A good aspect that really helps the story is the script for each character when you talk to them, or even for what your character says when they pull of some tricks or wipeout. It gets repetitive at times, but overall it gets some laughs, and despite the weird models and how they move, it gives some much needed personality. If you're a fan of the show, all the characters are pretty much here, and it even takes some real environments from Ocean Shores on the show. Despite being decent, the story isn't what shapes the game, it of course, is the gameplay. The gameplay consists of doing all sorts of extreme stuff, whether it be skating, rollerskating, jet skiing, even bumper cars and some other pretty fun mini games that all play well. The skating is what really excels, and despite an awkward button setup, its really easy to learn, and is very fun to use. During the open world story mode, skating is the best way to get around, and there's really just not many problems with it other than a few minor nitpicks. Rollerblading is pretty sloppy honestly, as its really hard to control and you end up bumping into walls a whole lot. Jet skiing is only used a few times, but is overall a fun method, and is transported well into a boss fight. There's other things like a hoverboard, and one of those sandboard things if I remember correctly, but they mainly are just like the skateboard. If you play the minigame mode, you and your friends could have some fun with some of these things, and the skating element itself can make this experience an enjoyable one. Overall, I'd say if you find it out there somewhere for cheap, get it. It's pretty good honestly, even if you don't know about the show in the slightest. The mini games are fun, the story mode and the whole use of hockey pucks to kill robots (forgot to mention you have a hockey stick as your main weapon in the story) is fun, each level is fun, the multiplayer is fun, this game itself is fun. I mean, I suggest the person who plays it be a little younger, since that's who is going to get most of the enjoyment out of this, but even if you're an adult, give this one a try.