Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Ratloop Asia
Genre: Side-scrolling shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

Despite the high-minded aims that Sony has for the Playstation Vita, the truth is that one of the things for which it’s best suited is the old-school platformer. Developer Ratloop Asia has delivered just such an item with their Vita port of the PC/PS3 hit Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, which takes the original game and juices it up a little bit to take advantage of the new handheld’s unique attributes.

All is not well in Albatropolis. An oppressive regime of evil penguins has taken over, led by their dictator, Putzki. A revolution has sprung up among the native fowl, but Putzki’s penguin army is too strong. But arriving to aid in the feathered uprising is Hardboiled Chicken, a one-bird commando squad toting a jetpack, nasty handguns and a bad attitude.

During the next several hours, you guide Hardboiled through 15 stages of combat, both in the air and on the ground. Controls are fairly simple — left stick to move, right shoulder button to fire one of the maximum of three weapons you can hold at one time (use the D-pad to switch between them), left shoulder button to throw grenades (aimed by drawing an arc on the Vita’s rear touch pad). Weapons are the standard handguns and rifles, but there’s one grenade that becomes vital to story progress: the brain bug. Launching one of these at your enemy allows you to take control of him, giving you a free pass to wipe out as many enemies as possible without danger to Hardboiled. But more importantly, possessing an enemy gets you access to elevator buttons and other items that aren’t within your reach as Hardboiled.

Playing through the various levels of Rocketbirds is a blast, once you get used to the controls, which can be tricky and can take awhile to master. Variety is a big plus in the design of the levels. You’re not tied to small corridors and platforms; in several of the levels you take to the skies for aerial dogfights with other jetpack-equipped characters and missiles. Jetpack fuel and ammunition are constantly draining during the battles, so you have to be on the lookout for falling parachutes containing supplies. Accompanying all of the action is an effective soundtrack of songs from the rock band New World Revolution, which keeps the gameplay lively. The game also features an interesting visual style, reminiscent of poster art from the World War II era.

Most of Rocketbirds is very cool to play, but it does suffer from the same problem that many early Vita games have: long load times. Reloading a save point can take 15 seconds or more, which can be annoying during long play sessions. The game includes a tilt-screen feature that allows you to see more screen areas, but I think I only really needed to use it once or twice throughout the three or four hours of my playthrough. The rear touch-screen grenade aiming mechanic is finicky, requiring the most tactile coordination of any control scheme in the game. Timing is also an issue when launching the brain bugs, since they hit the ground and bounce up into the air before detonating; fortunately you have an unlimited supply of the little buggers. As the game nears its conclusion, set-piece battles become more and more protracted and difficult, but the final confrontation with Putzki is merely an afterthought, a setup for the inevitable sequel. Also, Rocketbirds includes a two-player co-op mode accessible either ad-hoc or online, but the Internet-based co-op doesn’t include matchmaking, so you have to invite friends to play. Since none of my PSN friends own Vitas, I was unable to evaluate the multiplayer component.

Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken is the perfect Vita game. You can play it in small chunks and still progress, the controls are fairly simple, the action is fast and addictive, there’s a great sense of humor in the design of the story, and the addition of jetpack combat segments gives the game a great sense of variety. The long load times are a problem, and the ending is very unsatisfying, but anyone with a hankering for old-time platforming will find much to enjoy.

Our Score:
Our Recommendation: