RTX: Red Rock
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: LucasArts Developer: LucasArts Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Lucasarts made games that weren't based on Star Wars. Yes, as surprising as it may seem, a majority of Lucasarts' early games had nothing to do with Jedi, X-Wings or Stormtroopers (in fact, it wasn't until the early 90's that Lucasarts even looked at the possibility of a Star Wars game). The even more surprising aspect of this phenomenon is that a majority of these early games still rank among the best games ever made. Games like Full Throttle, The Dig and Maniac Mansion were staples in the collections of many older PC gamers (or, at least to those whose memory doesn't begin with Doom). RTX: Red Rock is Lucasarts first attempt at moving away from the Star Wars license, and though it fails to capture the magic that many of earlier Lucasarts titles, it still makes for a great adventure and an overall fun experience. Fans of classic sci-fi will no doubt love RTX's style and feel. Though it may feel like a cheesy 60's sci-fi flick at times, the game does an excellent job of conveying a futuristic look, while keeping things based in some sort of reality. Everything, from the robots to vehicles, look more like the next logical step in the evolution of space travel rather than the sleek style seen in shows like Star Trek. Even EZ's cybernetic enhancements look like newly created technologies rather than the 'you would never know it was there' body parts usually seen in science fiction (such as Luke Skywalker's hand). Lucasarts really hit the nail on the head when it came to both the graphical and audio aspects of RTX. Characters animate very well and carry a solid look, as do most of the games environments. The game is pretty skimpy when it comes to special effects, but the aforementioned style more than makes up for it. On the downside, RTX does have its fair share of graphical glitches, mostly in the form of camera angles and the occasional drop in frame rate when the action gets tense. In the audio department, both the voice work and music are top notch. Characters deliver their lines with emotion rarely seen in other games, and manage to capture the personalities wonderfully. Music ebbs with the game's action and does a great job of setting the mood without getting in the way. Even the ambient sounds you're likely to not even notice are implemented well, such as life support generators ticking and rumbling as they try to stay alive.
Gameplay: Though part of me is tempted to call RTX: Red Rock 'Tomb Raider on Mars', another part suggests that it may be a little more. Although the game may look like a typical third person action game, it actually follows the flow of your typical Lucasarts adventure game. A good part of the game is spent solving puzzles and making your way around locations on Mars. Combat does, however, play a major role in your operation, especially as you get farther in the game - but most of the game revolves around exploration and puzzle solving. The game opens with Earth successfully repelling it's first encounter with extraterrestrial life. Although many had hoped our first contact would be peaceful, that course of action wasn't meant to be. In the aftermath of the LED attacks (short for Light Emitting Demons -- which is the name humans gave the aliens), the military discovers that it's station on Phobos, a moon of Mars, has been destroyed. It is suspected that the LEDs may be setting up a staging area for another attack. You play the role of EZ Wheeler, a Radical Tactics Expert who is sent to Phobos to investigate. While on Phobos, EZ receives a transmission from a survivor on Mars and sets out to rescue her, setting the stage for a bigger adventure.
Difficulty: RTX: Red Rock is a game that you really have to keep your head in if you want to be successful. The game isn't that hard, but a few elements of the game don't really lend themselves to intuitive gameplay and can hurt the experience. The more offensive of these acts is the map system - which is a peg below useless at times. The standard practice of putting maps in games involves giving you an overview of the entire location, but this doesn't happen in RTX. Instead, you download a separate map for each objective you have to meet in a given level. Each of these maps only gives you the layout of two or three rooms, so if you're not in one of those rooms you're given a 'Not on Map' message and exist only as a nebulous arrow somewhere on the edge of the map. Needless to say, you'll spend a lot of time wandering around in some levels just trying to show up on the map. Objectives are usually easy to figure out, and rarely require much upper-level thinking to accomplish.
Game Mechanics: A flirty, yet extremely jealous AI named Iris, who plays a major role in nearly every aspect of the game, joins EZ on his mission. Not only will she provide you with valuable maps and tactical information, but she will also provide you with a means of controlling robots (and believe me, she will make it clear she isn't happy with some of the bodies she is forced to inhabit). Also at EZ's disposal are his synthetic arm and eye, as well as a variety of weapons and vehicles. In the beginning of the game, EZ's arm will serve mostly as a holster for his gun, but as the game progresses, his arm evolves and takes on new abilities. The more useful of the upgrades you can find are the torque wrench, which opens up panels, and grappling hook. Other upgrades include a catapult, plasma torch and Taser. Personally, I wasn't all that impressed with the execution and uses for the eye modes. Thermoscan will prove to be the more useful of the four modes since it will allow you to see some hidden LEDs, while the Naviscan brings up maps. The Bioscan and Electroscan modes are useful, but only in a limited sense within the game - so you're likely to not use them often and at times seem like pointless modes. Switching between modes becomes more of a chore than it should be in the game. Though navigating through the menus isn't a major hassle, it doesn't allow for a 'quick draw' - which could mean the difference between life and death when you run across some LEDs. It just seemed to me that the system would have worked better if each mode was mapped to a direction on the D-pad (similar to the method used in Metroid Prime) since it would have allowed for quick access to Thermoscan and Naviscan features. EZ will also have access to vehicles like the Scout (a low-flying ship), a Moon Buggy and the Spider (a rock crawling device). Controlling these vehicles is very easy and doesn't take much to learn. Overall I was pleased with RTX: Red Rock. Though it certainly has its fair share of flaws, it makes for a fun experience and is well worth checking out.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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