Game Sneak Peek #2: JumpJet Rex

I finally set up my new rig, so I can finally write again, and I think playing a game and a review on it is the best place for me to get back into the swing of things. I chose JumpJet Rex as a good starting point.

I've always had an eye out for platformer games, and if I'm totally honest with myself, might possibly be my favorite genre next to RPG's. The simplistic action that they provide is very appealing, since you typically have to execute a precise sequence of moves in order to fulfill a task, and the planning that goes into it can be as heavily or lightly involved as the gamer feels. If the gameplay is fluid and easy to handle, then one will feel the enriching experience in accomplishing a tough task regardless.

At a first glance, JumpJet Rex appears to hold all of the cards in its hand to give anyone who enjoys this genre a good time. It has stunning visuals, choosing eye-catching color palettes that are easy for the player to assess the entire board, as it were. The animations are vibrant, yet simplistic enough for the hardcore platform gamers its trying to cater to. Its lively sound track provides the finishing touch to this arcade styled platformer; the music for the bosses are especially exciting, and they did well enough alone in giving me an intense rush.

JumpJet Rex's gameplay is fluid. I never find myself attributing any of my character deaths to anything outside of poor planning or miscalculations. Because the board is easy to read, I can easily plan my route, finishing the levels in faster times or fewer deaths than my prior runs. Additionally, the controls are really simple, which is a must for a good platformer to have. We only have the four directional inputs, or four boosting inputs that can be used instead. You have a rolling feature as well, although I haven't seen it necessary to use outside of one of the first levels yet.

I feel the crux of my hesitance to give this game a higher score lies with its environment. I think I've been through half of the game by now, judging by where I am at in relation to the meteor (the main point of Rex's adventure is to stop it and save dinokind), yet already most of the levels feel more or less the same. There doesn't seem to be a lot in the way that makes any of the levels particularly challenging. A lot of the time, I'm navigating a lot of nothing followed by one-dimensional 'puzzles' to avoid damage.

The scenes feel very plain and don't really add a lot of depth or world building to give an immersive experience for the more picky gamers, which doesn't seem to give us much more to play off of other than the game's concept, 'stop the meteor from crashing into Earth'. I could boil a lot of this down to loosely attached levels -- attached only in so much that they need to be completed to advance -- with there not being much rhyme or reason to their existence. I also worry, given that I've been able to rush through half the game in about an hour or so with little difficulty, that this game suffers from an issue of pacing its difficulty.

Still, this game provides an enjoyable experience for the casual gamer to pick up. While I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction into the genre, something I'd save for reboots like Celeste, it makes a fairly decent time with your group of friends. Perhaps my score would change were I to experience this games finish, but as it stands, this game feels mediocre.

Score:

Concept: 4/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Visuals/Soundtrack: 9/10
Environment: 3/10
Subjective: 5/10

Final Score: 5.6/10

Are you wanting me to review a specific game? Check out my list below for a list of my steam collection. Valued at $7000, I have a total of 556 games you can choose from in this list alone, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have several console games that I have yet to list, but I'll be trying to add them as I get the time. In the mean time, this is a good place for you to start if you want to make a request.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=12F0-AMfMU9cehRmTguN0nRHnGRNTIvbO