Systems: Android, Dingux,Linux,PS2, PSP, Windows
Developer Website: http://rockbot.upperland.net
Rating: B+
Originally created as a base engine to create further Megaman style games the developers have created an interesting game in its own right. Right from the beginning you are given a choice between 2 hero robots, Rockbot who can charge his buster shot and has a shield, and Betabot whose arm cannon fires twin pellets(one regular height the other low) and a dash instead of a slide. I found I preferred Rockbot due to being more like the Megaman I grew up playing. They both maneuver well however I did not care for the slide/dash maneuver being set to a separate button from the tried and true down + jump. This separate button is also what is used to activate Rock's shield which protects against most projectiles.
The level design for the most part is pretty good and while there is not a large number of unique or interesting enemy bots to battle against, many being just reskinned me-tools to fit the level, the ones that was added are very well done and are a nice addition. The robot masters on the other hand are not all created equal.
I enjoyed the likes of Magebot, Apebot, Seahorsebot, and Mummybot as they provided some fun and variation in the battles against them. Techno and Spikebot was OK but nothing to write home about. Then you have Daisie and Dynamite bots, neither of which did I enjoy going into battle against either of them. Neither of them are difficult but their AI are absolutely terrible. Daisie especially has no real AI to speak of other then just running back and forth from wall to wall and throwing her pathetic arced pellet shot at you.
Having played through the game twice once with each of Rock and Beta, I can certainly say that you will only find use for a handful of the weapons short of as enemy weaknesses during regular stage play. Apebots ability is a decent ground clear affect which comes in handy when clearing out large number of me-tools efficiently. Technobot's weapon however takes the cake being a 1 to 3 shot kill on just about every end game boss due to its continuous damage in a isolated area. I was able to walk through the entire end of the game with no trouble at all once I realized this. Not having Rush the dogbot, but instead providing some unique twists on the old hi-jump and flight abilities, we have an eagle and a frog that are quite usable if only for the occasional power up grab.
The music was however all around quite enjoyable. All through out I found myself humming along with, however nothing really stuck in my head short of the amazing boss battle music. The tone of the chosen song reminded me a lot of the music from Mega Man 3. It has a sort of ominous tone to it which gave to the atmosphere. All round the music is top notch.
Overall I really liked the project as a whole being one of the better made fan games I have played with a just right difficulty, decent movement controls, and excellent music. Not a bad effort at all and it appears the developers are still making tweaks and adaptations to it so I hope they take the time to fix up a few of the boss battles and make some of the special abilities more usable. With a few hidden surprises for those who stick it out this is certainly a project I will continue to monitor as I feel there is a real gem here that still has a few rough edges that can be smoothed over and polished.
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