Super Rocket Shootout brings you frantic 2D multiplayer brawler action. Filled to the brim with shotguns, explosives, lasers, environmental hazards and jetpacks you fight until you are the last person standing.
Easy to learn, hard to master
You start off Super Rocket Shootout with a nice tutorial which explains the simple mechanics this game has to offer. The controls are quite easy to pick-up but do offer enough depth to really develop your own playstyle. Breaking boxes gives you the chance to find a power-up or some extra throwable explosives. With the addition of perfect blocks, super attacks, counters and the devastating super moves, you’ll have plenty to learn before you become a master at this game.
I would suggest starting your Super Rocket Shootout adventure with the story mode. It offers you a humorous backstory about a bank heist gone wrong and eventually saving the world. All while introducing the 8 playable characters. Since each character has its own strengths, weaknesses and super moves – a cybernetic zombie unleashing pestering bats onto the other players for example – it’s a nice way to force you to experience the roster before you start the multiplayer part of the game. Although the story mode is short – about 45 minutes to complete – it is the ideal way to see everything the game has to offer.
4 player couch-multiplayer mayhem
After the story mode, you are left with an arcade mode and a shootout mode. The arcade mode lets you pick a character and basically fight every other character until the end. The shootout mode is the one you’ll likely be playing the most. This mode offers up to 4 player couch-multiplayer mayhem. You choose the stage, the modes – 2vs2, free for all, … – and the possible power-ups/explosives you get from the crates. From then on, it’s just about having fun while shooting up, beating up and blowing up your friends. The only downside is that this game is local multiplayer only. The addition of an online multiplayer would make the appeal of this game much greater.
Great stage design
Although Super Rocket Shootout is all about action, the 8 stages the action takes place in are in my opinion the best feature of this game. In a way, they start to feel a bit like extra characters to me. Every stage is really cleverly designed with its own unique environmental hazards and possible alterations, which can really influence the way your character battles on the given stage. The train stage, for example, offers breakable roofs to get better access to a player hopping around avoiding your shots. Falling off the train even gets you “insta-killed” so making good use of your jetpack is crucial. In the lab stage you can even be hit with lasers which can be triggered when stepping on a button. All these things offer you unique plays to go about and destroy your friends.
Conclusion
Super Rocket Shootout offers really easy to pick-up gameplay with enough depth to keep you busy. Although this game offers single player content, Super Rocket Shootout really shines when It is played with friends. Local-only multiplayer is a bit of a bummer but potentially the perfect excuse to get together for a good old-fashioned couch-multiplayer party.
