Sparkster

"Decent Side-Scroller"

Sparkster was released in 1994 as a sequel to Rocket Knight Adventures. In this game, the hero, Sparkster, has two girls fall for him. One gets kidnape, an army attacks Sparkster's home planet, and the king wants Sparkster dead. A fun little game if nothing else.

Sparkster uses a sword to take care of his enemies, along with the Rocket and Screw Attacks for when things get rough. You get the chance to obtain gems, new lives, fire swords and health chargers in the game. If you get enough gems, you can play a little bonus slot machine game.

The control in the game is a little hard to learn at first because of Sparkster's special attacks, but it becomes easy as you progress through the game. The control vastly changes when you get to drive a large robot through the streets, and response time is occasionally slow, but there are no major problems.

The sound and music are well done. Explosions sound realistic, and the soundtrack keeps you interested. The smooth graphics in the game are symbolic of the type you'd seem during this time period, but during the later levels, everything slows to a crawl because of all the things involved.

Sparkster is a really fun game despite it's small flaws. Four difficulty levels will keep you playing after you've beaten it the first time, as each difficulty level presents a new level to play through. A fun little game to rent for the night. Also, a big improvement over the original game.

(All ratings are assigned as if they had been given when the game was originally released)

Graphics: 7
Sound: 9
Gameplay: 9
Replay Value: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99