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Pocket PC Used: Ipaq with game running on 48 meg. storage card Note:?
Game requires 9 megs of free ram to run correctly.
Geoffrey's take:
I just picked up two astronauts with my little rocket and started heading back
to the base when all of a sudden I heard my two new passengers scream.? I
don't remember how exactly they met their untimely fate, was it ejecting them
from the ship or slamming into the side of a crater?? Either way, the
screams made me jump.?
RocketElite is a game simulation reminiscent of Lunar Lander from the early
1980's, where concentration is the key to success.? This is not your
Pappy's old game, for RocketElite has more realism with careful attention to how
the rocket reacts to its environment.? The movement is mainly controlled
with the stylus for pickups and landings. The broader the sweep with the stylus,
the faster the ship moves and turns, and the quicker you'll find yourself
crashing.
Luckily there is a training mode that slows the game down to make pickups and
landings seem almost magical.? The tradeoff here is it is just for
training, so there won't be any high score to log at the end of the game.
Taking a look at some of the screenshots, you'll notice the attention to detail.
I particularly like what happens when your rocket blows up.? It looks like
a spoonful of sugar being poured over the crash area. Very effective.?
Powerups screen
Main game screen
As for the sound quality, I found what sound there was to fit appropriately with
what was happening on the screen.? Being it a light tap of the engines
before landing or the background space sounds, the mood was definitely set to
help forget the amount of concentration I was exerting.
The game does have what seems like an endless supply of levels to conquer, with
each requiring a slightly different aspect to complete. ?Some take away
your amount of fuel, others have aliens trying to muck things up for you. Like
many new dedicated games such as this, there is a level editor so you can create
your own migraine-inducing levels for sharing.
People who do not like details may find this game tedious as the movement of the
ship is very precise.
Michelle's take:
As a person who likes to play only Tetris and Solitaire, I was initially
reluctant to even try this game.? Controlling the movement of the rocket
with the stylus was at first very frustrating.? Instead of performing
perfect "10" landings, all I did was slam into rocks. After about 30
minutes of play, I was ready to permanently erase the game.? However, once
I discovered the training mode (which moves at about half of the speed) I
mastered the rocket control and began advancing levels.?
It was interesting to see what would happen with each new level as each adds a
new element to conquer.? Once I learned how to control the rocket, I
advanced through the levels pretty quickly.? I especially liked the jump
gate feature which provides the ability to jump to your previous highest level
of completion instead of having to start on the first level every time.?
Along the journey there are multiple items to pick up.? Although the
introduction explains the function of each, it was sometimes hard to remember
their purpose since the symbols were small and sometimes similar in appearance?
- however, I suspect that would not be a problem with extended play.?
The graphics are simple but effectively get the point across overall. The sound
effects enhance the quality of the game without being distracting, and there was
no annoying music playing in the background.???
Although I am not ready to give up Tetris, I was surprised to find myself
looking forward to playing the game and conquering more levels.? It would
especially appeal to people who like action games which require concentration
and fine motor skills.
RocketElite can be purchased from https://www.kattare.com/users/rocketelite/purchase.php
for $18.99.
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