Game Stooge

REVIEW: Boom Boom Rocket (Xbox 360)

• Scribbled on April 27th, 2007 by Jonah Falcon
• Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Music/Rhythm, Reviews, Xbox Live Arcade

Bizarre Creations practically made the Xbox 360 version of Xbox Live Arcade worthwhile with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, which itself was a remake of a fun little minigame Geometry Wars which was unlockable content in Project Gotham Racing 2.  Now, they’ve come out with their second game, Boom Boom Rocket.

The very name hints at what the game is about in a few ways. As the name implies, it’s about rockets - in this case, fireworks - but the acronym, BBR, hints at another game which is similar to it in function - DDR, that is, Dance Dance Revolution, which is appropriate since they both function the same way: one must time corresponding button presses to floating arrows as they reach a line to explode a firework, with a pattern set to music. The only difference between BBR and DDR that there is a multiplier that ticks up as you make correct timing presses - when the multiplier bar fills up, pressing both triggers activates a Bonus Run in which all values are multiplied by 16. In that respect, the game resembles Guitar Hero II.

Unfortunately, the only thing that prevents a DDR dance mat or a Guitar Hero II guitar controller from being used is that there’s no way to activate the Bonus Run - there’s no control editing. The other mild difference between BBR and DDR is that the arrows come from angles in BBR, so one most make some tricky judgment calls on some of the tougher songs.

The game features just a handful of songs, which are basically Manheim Steamroller-styled (or Hooked on Classics) pop versions of classical songs such as Beethoven’s Fifth and In the Hall of the Mountain King. Free (yes, free) song packs are promised, however. The graphics are full 3D, including the fireworks plumes themselves. Unlockable content includes special shapes on some explosions, like a star, a musical staff, a UFO, and so forth.

There are two basic modes, each with single and same-machine multiplayer: Regular and Endurance. While Regular takes the player(s) through a single run of a song, Endurance loops through the song, ramping up the speed (in terms of beats per minute) til the game is an orgy of finger-twisting manic button tapping. Playing with a friend in this mode can be a trip, especially since if one person fails, the song ends.

Overall, the game is a bright, colorful sight-and-sound experience, and quite challenging on the hardest difficulty, but easy enough for less capable players to enjoy on the lower difficulty settings.

The game costs 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and is downloadable from Xbox Live Marketplace.