[Review] Rochard (PS3)

The world of space exploration isn't all lightsabers, HAL, the schwartz, and William Shatner as proven by the life of John Rochard. Being an astro-miner is just about the least glamourous job that one can have in the glamorized world of outer space, and John Rochard is in the middle of it all. While deep in his rut one day, he stumbles upon an alien structure and the journey begins. As you join him on this side scrolling adventure, prepare to use all of Rochard's tools and tricks to solve various puzzles and save the day.

You start off by being introduced to the mundane life of a astro-miner. Though Rochard is the boss, his team has managed to be the lowest producing team in companies existence. While being introduced to the in's and out's of the mining world, you start off with basic moving controls as well as Rochard's most essential feature: his "G-Lifter." It acts as a tool for him to pick up objects and to launch them defensively or strategically. Not very long into the game, Rochard is given the ability to minimize gravity. This becomes one of Rochard's most unique and fun feature to mess around with as far as throwing objects and just jumping around in a near free floating state. 

The gameplay ends up being similar to a scaled down, side-scrolling Portal-styled game with more action. Though the depth in puzzles aren't nearly as intricate, the addition of enemies does make it somewhat more complex; however, there still isn't enough action to make it take center stage. The AI isn't horrible by any means but most of them die with just one melee attack, which is rather silly and hardly a challenge. As far as the controls goes, aiming is done with the right joystick, which can be a tad bit sensitive especially when aiming at anything that isn't at the left or right extremes. Though the storyline is intricate, it feels as though it is too complex and gets in the way of the core gameplay - shooting, platforming, and puzzles.

Rochard may be a unique hybrid of genres, but that is not necessarily a good thing. Puzzlers and shooters are my favorite genres, yet this game can't quite catch my attention. The puzzle does become the dominant aspect of the game, with the weak fighting only getting in the way of the puzzles. However this is a PSN exclusive title and at $9.99, it does offer a fairly extensive game. If you aren't looking for a strict puzzle game or an accurate and addictive shooting game, then you might be able to put up with what Rochard is lacking and still have a good time. But if you are overly critical about your gameplay niche, then this game will not be the one for you.

Available on: PS3; Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment; Developer: Recoil Games; Players: 1; Released: September 27, 2011; ESRB: Mature; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.