The twist on this simple formula was the fact that Boom Boom Rocket was also a rhythm-action game: the fireworks flowed up the screen in time with the various pieces of music in the game, all of which were astonishingly brilliant and rather unconventional remixes of classical tracks such as Grieg's In The Hall of the Mountain King and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Miss them and you'll bring yourself closer to failure. By pressing the buttons at the right time, as the fireworks cross the line, you score points and build up a bonus meter. Boom Boom Rocket (Xbox 360)īoom Boom Rocket is the red-headed stepchild of Project Gotham/Geometry Wars developer Bizarre Creations' lineup, but it's a great game in its own right.Īs the game camera gently pans across a stylized, neon cityscape, fireworks with buttons and colors marked on them launch into the sky towards a guideline at the top of the screen. Anyone who has ever played Lumines in versus mode will doubtless be familiar with how this mechanic can destroy friendships. FantaVision's two-player mode was surprisingly fun and competitive, and marked one of the first appearances of a hilariously infuriating and/or satisfying mechanic whereby you could "steal" part of your opponent's play area, giving them significantly less space to work with. Various other mechanics came into play as you progressed, including the ability to set up chain reactions and collect a "Starmine," which triggers a frantic bonus mode.įantaVision originally launched in Japan in March of 2000, but was enhanced with a two-player versus mode for its North American and European release. Controlling a guideline that emanates from the on-screen cursor, you "capture" fireworks that are flying up into the sky in an attempt to string together three or more of the same color, then detonate them all at once. Rather than just making them go "pop" as you see fit, however, the game's core mechanic is somewhat puzzly in nature. Tech demos have come a long way since.įantaVision is, quite simply, a game where you set off fireworks. You remember the ones, surely - the ones where they recreated the ballroom scene from Final Fantasy VIII, supposedly in real time, and the one where all the fireworks went off and it looked rather pretty. FantaVision (PS2)įantaVision was one of the first ever PS2 games, and had its origins in those tech demos that did the rounds while the PS1 was still the dominant platform. As always, this isn't intended to be an exhaustive, prescriptive list if you happen to have a strong opinion on games that look like fireworks displays, be sure to share 'em. Let's jump right in and release the pretty lights. (The answer is "always." It is always acceptable.) If, for whatever reason, you are unable to attend a 4th of July fireworks display this evening - or perhaps you're a Brit like me who just can't wait until November 5 - never fear, for I have you covered with five games that make a suitably adequate replacement for standing outside going "ooh" and "aah" and wondering when it's acceptable to go and purchase your second burger and/or hot dog of the evening. That sort of thing tends to get you locked up these days, but for some reason, we like to celebrate that particular failed terrorist attack with pretty things that go boom in the sky. That doesn't mean I don't like fireworks, though.īrits tend to let off their fireworks on November 5 in commemoration of the time Guy Fawkes tried to blow up King James I and part of the English parliament. I am British, and as such am contractually obliged to not celebrate the 4th of July. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team. This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |