Boom Boom Rocket

Every gamer loves oohing and ahhing over pretty lights in the sky.Granted, the kind we see are usually explosions resulting from something we've just slammed a missile into, but it counts. Therefore, we were plenty interested when Boom Boom Rocket arrived as a puzzle-based fireworks simulation, almost like a dancing game reconfigured to appeal to those who would rather crane their necks skyward instead of tearing up the dance floor.

The concept is simple: it's nighttime, and there's a horizontal line at the top of the screen. To the tune of 10 heavily synthesized classical tunes with cute names – Tail Light Sonata; William Tell Overload, etc. - fireworks of four colors soar skyward. When they hit that line, it's your job to press the corresponding face button or direction on the d-pad (your choice) to detonate them. If you get enough of them in a row, you get the ability to trigger a bonus time sequence where everything gets more psychedelic and high-scorier. It's simple. Not necessarily easy to do at times, but a snap to understand. It's also much more intuitive than Fantavision, the PS2 launch title that was the only other recent entry into the fireworks genre.

While there are three difficulty levels, a single-system multiplayer option and a marathon mode, the game admittedly gets old before its time. That’s due mostly to the tiny song list (although more songs are likely going to be offered as downloads), and the fact that this is basically Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero played with only the normal controller.