Rocket Power: Beach Bandits

Rocket Power: Beach Bandits
North American GameCube cover art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)THQ
Producer(s)Justin Green
Designer(s)Shane Collier
Programmer(s)Sean Hammond
Artist(s)Sean Eustace
Platform(s)
Release
  • GameCube, PlayStation 2
  • Game Boy Advance
Genre(s)Action, sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rocket Power: Beach Bandits is an extreme sports game based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rocket Power. It was developed by Evolution Games and published by THQ. It was released for GameCube and PlayStation 2 in North America on September 24, 2002, and in Europe on October 25, 2002. Developed by Helixe, a separate version of the game was released for Game Boy Advance on November 18, 2002.

The game received "mixed or average" reviews upon its release according to review aggregation website Metacritic.

Plot

The game begins with the characters of Rocket Power about to start their summer vacation. Suddenly, the characters realize the sand in Ocean Shores has been taken away by a mysterious criminal. After investigation, they find out a company called Golem Industries has stolen all of the sand and decide to stop them.

The characters go to the lakes and find out that the water there has also been stolen by Golem Industries. They find out that the water is used to ship electricity to a secret base. They destroy the water plants, and after a confrontation with the "Barramundi Bot", return to Ocean Shores.

They eventually arrive at "Wishing Waters", the location of the secret base, which is revealed to be a giant robot factory underneath a water park controlled by a sentient supercomputer. Sam, one of the characters, hacks into the computer's program in order to build a robot that can gain access to robot-only areas. After exploring most of the base, they come into contact with "Cyrax", the supercomputer controlling the factory, which destroys their robot. After Team Rocket Power destroys all of Cyrax's computer chips with skateboards, Cyrax promptly explodes, and they escape. After coming back to Ocean Shores for a second time, the characters challenge Lars to a downhill dirt track race. After winning the dirt track race, they manage to convince Lars to give them the secret location of Golem Industries' headquarters.

Once they make it inside the base, they find a massive earthquake machine that Golem Sr, the Golem Industries owner, controls.Golem turns the machine on, the base rumbles, and a pipe knocks into him, sending him into a pool of lava. Golem then comes out of the lava and is revealed to be a robot. The characters confront Golem and destroy him.

After the gang returns to Ocean Shores for a final time, they find out that the mastermind behind the entire plan is Eric Golem Jr., the alleged son of Golem Sr.. He threatens to destroy all of Ocean Shores with a giant tsunami machine. In order to stop the impending destruction, they challenge Eric to a final set of race challenges. After the third battle, however, Eric quits the challenges and runs to the control room, prompting Otto, another character, to race him on hoverboards to get to the control room before he does. After Otto's win, the base is destroyed. During the final scene, everyone forgives Eric Golem Jr., for everything that he has done and encourages him to make human friends.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average" reviews from critics according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[5]

Greg Bemis of Extended Play gave the game three stars out of five, saying, "For the younger set, especially those enamored by "Rocket Power," this title provides a solid and enjoyable experience. For those who just want some good old gameplay, "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits" has that too."[13] IGN gave the GameCube version a 5 out of 10, writing, "It's for kids. Does that mean it has to be mediocre?"[9]

References

  1. ^ Bramwell, Tom (October 25, 2002). "What's New?". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "Rocket Power Beach Bandit Ships". IGN. September 24, 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "THQ Ships Rocket Power Beach Bandits for Game Boy ® Advance". GameZone. November 18, 2002. Archived from the original on November 24, 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  4. ^ "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits for Gamecube". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-06-22.
  5. ^ a b "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Review: Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (PS2)". GamesMaster. Future Publishing. 2003.
  7. ^ Tha Wiz (October 18, 2002). "Rocket Power Beach Bandits - GC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  8. ^ Lafferty, Michael (October 22, 2002). "Rocket Power Beach Bandits - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Casamassina, Matt (September 26, 2002). "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (GCN)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (GC)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 162. Nintendo of America. November 2002. p. 224.
  11. ^ Arushan, Zosha (October 25, 2002). "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits (GC)". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "Rocket Power: Beach Bandits". Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine. Future Publishing. 2002.
  13. ^ a b Bemis, Greg (November 20, 2022). "'Rocket Power: Beach Bandits' (GCN) Review". Extended Play. TechTV. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved March 29, 2022.