Just next door to the gargantuan PlayStation booth here at E3 is the SOE stand and, during a break from filming our live interviews, I popped over to take a look at an interesting little platformer called Rochard, coming exclusively to PlayStation Store this summer.
I sat down with the game’s producer for a guided playthrough and, while I figured out the buttons and got my brain around the gravity manipulation gameplay, he explained the general premise.
“You play John Rochard an astro-miner at a company called Sky Rig – we’re calling him an everyday hero,” he explained. “The entire company has been down on its luck in terms of finding anything but they stumble upon an alien artefact and, after reporting it to HQ, they find themselves surrounded by space pirates trying to get their hands on it. John is trying to protect his friends and find out what this artefact is in the process.”
Rochard is a 2D platformer with 3D graphics, kind of like Capcom’s recent Bionic Commando Rearmed, but with a more cartoon-like art style.
The gameplay emphasis is less on combat and more on puzzles. You don’t even have a traditional gun at the beginning of the demo; instead you have a kind of plasma grappling line that you can use to grab inanimate objects such as crates and electrical fuses. You aim using the red stick and fire using the R2 button, and when you have an object in your grasp you can fire it with another squeeze of the R2 button, whether it’s to knock an enemy out or create a platform to give you that extra height to make a jump.
At any point you can press the L1 button to turn gravity down a few notches. Not only does this turn your standard jumps into Neil Armstrong style bounds, it affects the trajectory at which fire any objects you have grabbed.
This forms the basis of the puzzles I got to play through, which were mostly physics based and involve strategically firing crates to weigh down platforms and get over to the other side of the stage and progress. Extra complexity comes later on in the demo with the introduction of forcefields. John Rochard can pass through blue forcefields but inanimate objects can’t, and vice versa for red forcefields.
At the end of the demo I unlocked a gun attachment that paved the way for some more action-focused shooting sections.
Rochard is an intelligent little puzzle game that combines an appealing art style with an original toolbox of game mechanics to bring something truly original to PS3. It will be available to download from PlayStation Store later this summer and the demo that I played will also be available ahead of the full game’s release.
first !
Wow, it reminds me of 2 games…Ratchet & Clank and Little Big Planet…R & C because of the guns and LBP cuz of those platforms :D
Lot of awesomeness – Can’t Wait
Second!! Cool this looks like it could be fun and it’s a PS exclusive so yay!
Whoops haha guess not
5th?
I noticed this game about 4-5months ago, and this new video has got me even more excited. Cant wait to give this one a try.
is anyone else still having trouble purchasing on the psn store? i keep getting errors and i dont know if its just me anymore. its certainly been a while
^^ Just keep trying or go to account management and add funds to your wallet manually then go back to the store and try again.
Yeah this game looks like fun, reminds me of Crash Commando.
I’m surprised – this game looks fun! Sort of like combining games LBP + Bionic Commando + DeathSpank. I hope the humor and country / trucker background music is exactly how the trailer shows because it makes the game that much more fun.
lol @ the Tarzan yell.
Looks like a fun little game. Is there a set price for this yet?
ESCALATION TOMORROW WOOT!!!!
Why there is always a stupid guy to say ” First” ? Someone can explain me strange behavior
Would someone at Sony please ban those morons writing “1st” etc… they are like spammers.
And another side scrolling shooter….
So um, youtube video this time?
I’ve been looking forward to this one. It looks like a very cool puzzle/platformer, its said to be $9.99.
:)K
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! YOU UPLOADED A PSN EXCLUSIVE AS A DAMN YOUTUBE VIDEO??!!…FAIL!!
@ James Gallagher hey how ever you posted that video keep doing it. It works threw are internet filter lol:) First video I have ever got to work….
Looks cool. Any news on Multiplayer?
Looks great, just don’t make the same mistake as with Slam Bolt Scrappers and over-charge for it: $9.99 is the sweet-spot for these types of games, especially for new IP’s.
We better get the map packs for black ops free
all depends on the price.
@ gioluis1
I highly doubt that we will get escalation for free. However, we may get a discount for being ps plus members if we are lucky…
Why are people complaining about youtube? What’s the issue?
Make something for psp for once.
This still looks really fun. Hopefully it’s $9.99
it says “cannot add funds to wallet” :(
A really unique looking title. The PSN is just draining me! Stop releasing so many good titles!
ok ;X
@krikpad… I know how u feel PSN just drained everything from me to lol… This title looks really good and fun… I guess I have to add more $$ in my wallet for when this comes out… SONY keep up with the killer job ur doing… U guys rock xD
looks pretty cool
This looks interesting, also looks like it took some hints from Portal ;).
cool, its like psn’s shadow complex. looks great!
I actually prefer youtube. Other formats don’t work on Android phone or the PS3 browser. Thanks for making things compatible, Guys :). These are my main access to the internet, so its nice to see that. The game looks fun by the way. Looks classic!
TF2???
This game looks fun…
@zopi-san
I got the same vibe! I think it’s just because of the textures, the music somewhat, and the fact it has something like HL2s gravity gun, but got a TF2 feeling too! Kind of reminds me as the Heavy Weapons Guy.
But as for the game, looks like a very interesting and extremely fun title. Too bad there are other games on my list, and my paychecks are usually gone to bills before I even get them :(
Not to be a buzzkill here but, we’ve seen several games like this before. What makes this game unique and better than the rest? I think we are taking this the wrong way, we need exclusives for the PS3 that is unique and everyone wants to play it. Maybe something like TF2, class-based, unique looking game. With a loving and updating developer, that game could be the next hit if the devs hit it right. Hear me out devs!
not for me.. :S
That looks flippin’ awesome.
12
looks good