Rocket Power: Beach Bandits

Totally Extreme!

NA release: 24th September 2002
EU release: 25th October 2002
JP release: N/A
Developer: Evolution Games
Publisher: THQ
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Mods Used: Widescreen Hack

I don’t know anything about the cartoon show Rocket Power, other than it’s clearly using the same visual style as Rugrats. It’s about a group of kids who are into extreme sports. While Tony Hawk clones were plentiful at this time, this isn’t just an extreme sports game, but a 3D platformer with skateboarding and rollerblade sections. Thankfully you do spend plenty of time walking around, as games like Psybadek have shown that trying to make a 3D platformer with the movement of skating is a very difficult task.

The gang get up one morning to find that the sand on the beach has vanished on the same day a new company, Golem Industries, has started buying properties in the town. Mysterious robots have also appeared in the town, so the kids set off to investigate. In the hub world, a big arrow points where you need to go, so it’s a case of walking around and doing a mission. One nice feature while here is that you can swap between on-foot, skateboard or roller skates to speed up moving around, although it’s quite annoying that every time there’s a transition (going to a different area of the hub or talking to someone), you’re defaulted back to on-foot, which is extremely slow.

Some of these missions are skateboard competitions. The controls for the stunts are simple, but it’s speedy enough to be enjoyable. If it was these sections alone, then it would still be better than Disney Sports Skateboarding. Using your skateboard or rollerblades takes place for other things throughout the adventure, such as some races or a really neat boss battle. There are other minigames that help mix things up like some shooting galleries, puzzles and a large jetski section.

Unfortunately, the platforming sections themselves are rather dull. They’re not bad, and they function just fine, so the game never gets frustrating, it just could have done with a bit of extra speed. I think that they wanted a bigger contrast between walking and skating that they slowed down walking a bit too much. Still, for fans of the show, it’s nice, colourful and has voice acting from the proper voice actors throughout, with a story that feels like it could have been a big TV movie.

One interesting thing I noticed as a bit of subliminal marketing. Throughout the game, a character can be seen off in the distance, and features in multiple posters you find throughout the game, as a way to advertise Nickelodeon’s big push into video games: Tak and the Power of Juju.

As for Rocket Power, this is a decent game for fans of the show. It’s a big adventure that could have easily been a lazy job instead. It’s a shame the developers never got to try more projects, as this was the first and last game that the Australia-based Evolution Games ever made.

Fine

I had to keep reminding myself I wasn’t the intended demographic for this game. Then again, I don’t know who is. It’s way too hard in places for the youngest gamers, but older players will be annoyed by the trite story and senseless collecting (why do developers love coins so much?). If it weren’t for the mini-games and multi-player modes, the game would rate much lower, but if your kids are big fans of the show, it’s worth a rental. Just be prepared to play along with them.
Allen Appel, Nintendojo

Remake or remaster?

If Nickelodeon do a collection of platformers, this would be a decent one to include.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Rocket Power: Beach Bandits.