Daily Archives: Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Rocket Jockey

  • Reading time:1 mins read

In his remake of of Rocket Jockey, The Moonkeeper author Ben Pettengill has delivered something of a gem. Both engrossing in its own right and faithful to what little there is to Active Enterprises’ original, Rocket Jockey is one of the highlights of the Action 52 Owns game jam.

The game begins as you find all your cows beamed into space by interstellar cattle rustlers. So you run out back of your barn, hop on the back of your solid-fuel rocket, and blast off in pursuit. Aside from the arrow keys, the game uses a single button. Rather than shoot, you sling out a lasso. If you rope a steer, you get to sustain another hit and your lasso begins to glow and grow in length. Snag a gunman, and you may pull him off his own rocket. You can also grab barrels, and toss them forward.

( Continue reading at DIYGamer )

Teppoman 2 Jumps ‘n Sneaks ‘n Runs ‘n Guns

  • Reading time:1 mins read

Ikiki, an artist new to me yet well-known in some circles (and hugely active between 1999 and 2005), has reappeared from the woodwork to deliver one new major and one minor opus: respectively, Teppoman 2 and Nozumou.

Both games have sort of a covert SNK flavor to them, which comes across slightly in the design and greatly in the soundscape. The music and effects often have a King of Fighters feel, and with its mix of shooting, platforming, and humor Teppoman 2 will call to mind Metal Slug. Yet something about the game also also reminds me of P.O.W.: Prisoners of War — maybe the sounds, or how you recover weapons from enemies, or the limited ammo.

Anyway, Teppoman 2 brings a new perspective to the run-’n-gun by combining some advanced platformer elements and a slight stealth component.

( Continue reading at DIYGamer )