Wednesday, 10 August 2016

JumpJet Rex


Developer: TreeFortress Games
Steam Release: Apr 2015
Hours Played: 4.4
Similar To: Dustforce / Mechanic Escape / Mega Coin Squad / Mos Speedrun 2 / Super Meat Boy
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips



GAMEPLAY
JumpJet Rex comes with a cheerful hero in the form of a smiling t-rex. In possession of a huge bouncy ball at his base and a happy heart full of bounce, your friendly dinosaur bounds through maze-like levels with a series of four abilities conveniently linked to the four buttons on your Xbox controller (for this is best played on that device). With a small jet-pack like puff built into his boots (green button A), a more sustained thrust to lift you ever higher (yellow button Y), a smooth dash of speed in the direction you're facing (blue button X) and a butt stomp in a downward direction (red button B), you're all set and ready to go on your adventure through space. All is responsive to Super Meat Boy type standard but be wary, this child-centred veneer hides a brutal game that can be punishing for even the most veteran of platforming enthusiasts.
 

BALANCE & PACE
But worry ye not for JumpJet Rex is one of those hardcore precision platformers that delivers the best of both worlds. On the one hand, casual players can simply aim to complete a level for one of three gold stars. They may also forget about time pressure and collect all the gold coins for that second gold star. (You have to do this without dying.) Finally on the other hand, serious speed runners will drool at the chance to smash the extremely tricky par-times to get that final elusive gold star. This may seem easy at first but get beyond the first half a dozen or so and multiple-attempt syndrome with a rage-quit twist will set in fast. Levels generally take around 30 seconds to a minute or two to complete at the early stages but, helped by those zippy abilities and seas of sparkling gold coins to wade through, are a pleasant blast to traverse.

  
PRESENTATION & DESIGN
JJR is presented in old-school, 16-bit fashion but like Super Meat Boy before it, its modest appearance belies the great pleasure you get from charging through its levels. You begin outside the main game by first entering Rex's base. From here you can leap about a bit, knock your beach ball around and get re-acquainted with the controls. You then jump into your car which doubles as a spaceship, don your sunglasses and get taken to a quite frankly horribly designed looking map or level-select screen with small pixellated floating icons that indicate levels. Using your car as a pointer, it is from here that you choose which level to jump into. Equally cheap and annoying is the harsh sounding chiptune soundtrack which you'll want to turn off well before it's a quarter of the way through its loop.  


PROGRESS SYSTEM
As mentioned, progress is viewed through the level-select screen which you fly to with your car from your base at the start or which you return to at the end of each run. The map itself, which reminds me of the horror that was the Scoregasm level-select screen, is set in outer space with floating icons. There are about 42 levels in total and a boss you need to battle through after every 10 levels or so to further unlock the game. The icons are named and display an information panel when hovered over. This panel shows how many of the three stars you have collected, your best time for that level and what world rank this puts you at. You may also view an online leaderboard with the players' names recorded in the form of a list.  



CONCLUSION
With some well-rounded level design, responsive movement to four basic but nifty abilities and an experience which really makes you feel you can kick ass when it all goes right, JumpJet Rex is a snazzy platformer that can certainly give other similar hidden gems like Mega Coin Squad and Mighty Switch Force a run for their money. Other little extras like having 3 save slots so that other family members can actually play is very welcome and having your ghost running nearby is also great for gauging how well you're doing - both highly useful but often neglected features left out by not-so thorough developers. This is definitely one where sharp and smashing gameplay trumps all. 





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