At the end of each level your score is tallied and includes rockets, super bombs, city sections remaining, marksman, repairs remaining and combo blasts which
all add up for a final level score. There’s no tutorial so I’m not exactly sure what marksman is all about though I imagine it has something to do with how close to the actual meteor you hit or how many misses you have.
The purpose of the final level score is totally unclear as there’s no leaderboard or tracking in the game aside from overall high scores for both modes. It would have been nice to be able to go and play a single level again and try to get a better score but you can’t do it.
The graphics and the sound are pretty good. They’re not outstanding but each rocket has a distinct sound and the graphics look good on both the PSP and the PS3 which is something considering the difference in the screen sizes generally.
They also did a great job of making sure the game was highly playable from a controls standpoint on both platforms as you can use either the D-pad or the thumbstick on both. The controls aren’t so complicated that you’ll get frustrated and give up and while the gameplay begins fairly easy, it starts ramping up rather quickly. The furthest I’ve made it in arcade is stage 7 so far. Sorry Earth, I’ve failed you!
Overall, Rock N Rockets is what all PS Minis should be, fun, easy to play and highly functional on both PSP and PS3, after all, that’s the true benefit of the Minis platform, play at home or on the road.
Here are some helpful hints:
- Shooting asteroids with the same type of missile charges them up, use that in marathon mode to score major points with multiple kills.
- Hold down L1/R1 or the bumpers on the PSP to speed up your reticle for faster movement.
- Try to catch power ups in an explosion with a meteor so you don’t waste missiles or lose potential points.
- Don’t leave marathon mode without dying as your score won’t be saved (until they update the game).
