Game review: Rad Rodgers – return of the ’90s action PC side-scroller
An enticing and addictive nod to a childhood favourite genre with gorgeous graphics, two-stick mechanics, lots of running and jumping, and cheeky humour
Interceptor Entertainment
3.5 stars
There was a period in the mid-1990s when aggressive, foul-mouthed characters dominated side-scrolling video games. They were very cartoony, often over-the-top violent and nearly always anthropomorphic animals: Earthworm Jim, Jazz Jackrabbit, Conker and Gex, to name but a few.
The era is almost perfectly recreated in the PC game Rad Rodgers, a throwback to those earlier games due to graphics that walk the line between retro and modern, to the lead character’s snot-nosed punk attitude. And while the gameplay itself never quite matches up, that’s probably saying a lot about the drawbacks of nostalgia and how far gaming has come since.
If you played any of those earlier titles, the concept of Rad Rodgers may sound almost simplistic: you’re a little spikey-haired dude who has to save the world or something, armed with a ridiculously large gun and your trusted sarcastic sidekick. Then there’s the two-stick mechanics, lots of running and jumping, and the occasional stab at cheeky humour.