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Never stand between a man and his mine.
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Rochard,
PS3, PC, Mac
"Rock is hard. John Rochard is Harder." That is the first thing I ever saw regarding "Rochard", and I have to admit, that sentence, combined with the image posted above, told me I had better at least give this game a look.
"Rochard" is a classic style side-scrolling platform action/puzzler made by Recoil Games. You play as John Rochard, a miner working for the Skyrig Corporation searching asteroids for a rare mineral commonly called "Space Diesel" (or so our protagonist tells us). The game starts off with John Rochard and crew about to be fired for being the lowest producing crew in the company. Just when things couldn't look worse, the crew gets a lucky break: they hit a major deposit, and it looks like they'll keep their jobs after all. On top of that they've uncovered a strange object in the shafts, something John immediately calls in to report. Their fortune doesn't last long though, as catastrophe strikes, leaving Johns companions Skyler and Zander trapped in one of the shafts. With their lives in peril Rochard sets off to save them, but not before calling in the emergency. To make matters worse a group of space pirates show up and invade the station. Johns shining moment of glory continues to get more and more tarnished, but to reveal more would ruin the plot, not something I care to do.
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If games and movies are any indication, than in the future all doors
will be electronic, and a total pain to get open and/or around.
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When I say "Rochard" is classically styled, I couldn't mean it more. Picking up the controls for the first time felt like a throw back to the golden era of sidescrolling platformers. I've heard others say it's a throwback to NES era wonders, but I think, that while high praise, it does this game an injustice. "Rochard" controls smoother than anything that era could have dreamed of, not to mention many current games. A platformer in the vain of Metroid, Castlevania, etc., "Rochard" presents a combination of physics based puzzles and run and gun shooting. Initially using a "G-lifter", and a "Rock Blaster", and the ability to manipulate gravity, John must move boxes, and sometimes reverse gravity, to find his way to his fallen comrades, fight the baddies, and generally get through the levels. The design of each level was done extremely well. I never found myself stuck in an "infinite loop", trying repeatedly to get to the next section. The difficulty level was set perfectly; never too easy, never too hard. While I was initially a little clumsy jumping in lowered, or even reversed, gravity, and using boxes to smash opponents and obstacles, I quickly mastered the controls. Easy to pick up and master, Recoil Games clearly took care when developing the controls. The only complaint I have about control and/or level design is that some features seemed to be underutilized. I found I rarely needed to crouch, and by the time I needed to use my flashlight I'd actually forgotten I had it, or how to use it. They were great features, and made well, but I felt that they could have been either used more, or made to be automatic functions without the need of additional buttons. A small point, but a valid one I think.
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I'd have never thought the space-time continuum had hot and cold faucets.
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Graphically "Rochard" is good, but not great. A little rough around the edges, due to the lack of anti-aliasing, but colorful, and bright. The animations are well done, but again they're good, not great. That's not to say the environments were bland, or poorly done; in fact quite the opposite. While some backgrounds seemed to be a bit repetitive, there was a good amount of change, and environment. Considering the first section of the game essentially takes place in a mine that's actually pretty impressive. Each level has depth, and character, and is visually appealing. One thing I really liked about "Rochard" is that when using certain items, or in certain areas, colors would reverse, or change, to reflect the effect given. For instance when reducing gravity the colors turn from "warmer" shades of red and orange to "cooler" shades of blue and grey. A cool effect, and actually helpful if you've forgotten you're holding down the button reducing gravity (as I did a time or two when hauling heavier loads).
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Just look at that guy and tell me he doesn't deserve a southern-rock
trucker-ballad. You can't do it, can you?
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The soundtrack to "Rochard" is amazing. This could be one of my favorite soundtracks to any game in years. In fact, while writing this review, I listened to it on repeat. It's just that good. As soon as I booted up the game I was hooked, there was not a single track I did not love. The intro starts off with a rad southern-rock style trucker ballad (complete with a bit of strong language, for those with sensitive ears), but don't let that fool you; the rest of the games soundtrack is reminiscent of the 32/64-Bit era of action-RPG's. Thumping and driving at times, mellow and cool at others, this soundtrack evokes the feelings of expansive space, the mines, and every other environment perfectly. With a throwback synthesized sound, and an orchestral score, this soundtrack sucks you in and keeps you coming back for more. I can honestly not say enough good things about it. While I'm sure there are those that would have liked a fully-orchestrated live score, or at least less of a classic synth feel, I think that Recoil Games could not have created a more perfect score for the game. It is just a well done, and well placed soundtrack; one I didn't mind hearing over and over as I repeated levels, sections, and even the game. Music aside "Rochard" has some of the best voice acting I've ever heard in a game. Ever. The voice acting blew me away. I cannot describe how emotional, sincere, and well done the voice acting is. It has to be heard to be believed. When John is frustrated, it comes through. When Skyler is in trouble, urging John to get to the shaft as quickly as possible, it hurried me up. When the bad guys monologued, well, I won't ruin things for you, but lets just say it got to me too. While I'm sure I've heard better dialogue, and acting, the quality in "Rochard" is not to be understated either. The fact this is an indie developed game just makes it that much more sweet. A feat Recoil Games should be proud of.
In addition to great voice acting, every scene has subtitles, if you should so choose to turn them on. A feature I wish more games had, as I personally enjoy reading along with what I'm hearing. A small thing, but a great feature in an already great game.
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| Worth every penny of the additional purchase. |
All in all "Rochard" is fantastic game, and at about $10 (depending on which service you buy it through) a great buy. Going into "Rochard" I didn't know what to expect, and I was blown away by what I received. Despite a few small complaints "Rochard's" killer gameplay, excellent control and amazing soundtrack easily lands it in my top ten games of 2011. Here's hoping for a sequel, a prequel, or just another killer game from Recoil Games to keep our fires burning.
I give "Rochard" a 4.75 out of 5. A great game at a great price
Until next time, game on.
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