Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers!
It's not a coincidence that the name of this game is Boom Boom Rocket. It is clear from the beginning that it should be compared to DDR, because it resembles it in every way.
Unlike DDR, in BBR you use the 360 controller as your input device. In BBR the arrows are in the form of different color fireworks that shoot up from the bottom of the screen. The object is to set them off by pressing the corresponding button as the firework gets to the preset line near the top of the screen. The fireworks hit the line in beat with whichever song you choose and hitting the right button explodes the arrows into fantastic fireworks. Missing the mark sends your meter back toward zero and if it gets all the way there you lose and have to start over. Getting a full meter gives you the opportunity to use a power boost to multiply your score tremendously for a small amount of time. You can only use the boost once per song however and choosing the right moment is vital to racking up high scores.
The visuals are on par with other XBLA games and its fun to see the fireworks in action, but usually you will only get to appreciate them when you are a spectator. For the most part your eyes are too locked into the upcoming arrows to even notice the explosions taking place. The repetitive city background is also easily ignorable and fairly plain. The game only comes with 10 different songs, all of which are very techno oriented. They range from slightly annoying to mildly catchy. The song selection is rather disappointing considering the influence that they have on gameplay. You would think that in a game like this it would be a shining point but unfortunately it's not.
As with DDR there are three different difficulty levels that make the game challenging even on medium. The differences include different speeds, more targets to hit, and multiple targets at once. One difference from other games like this is that the arrows are not set on a specific path so you have to have excellent timing and a good eye to hit every one. You are graded on each hit based on how close to the line the arrow was when you set it off and at the end of the song you get a total score which can be compared to others over Xbox Live. During every song there is one special firework to unlock and once you do (as long as you hit the right arrow and finish the song you unlock it,) you get to see that one explode randomly when playing other songs. There are a couple other game modes worth mentioning as well. Marathon mode lets you choose a song and play through as many laps as you can on any difficulty with the song getting faster with each lap. Then there is freestyle, in which you can set off the arrows at any time and no score is kept. Also included is a visualizer which allows you to set the fireworks to any of your own songs.
Boom Boom Rocket is a solid game and certainly a recommended download for the casual gamer. It has a pretty good replay value if you find yourself coming back again and again to up your high score in your games. Apart from that though there isn't a whole lot to keep you hooked, but there is a multiplayer mode so you can show up your friends with your amazing hand-eye coordination.