Rocket Knight blasting off on 360, PS3, PCs

In the mascot-mad early-'90s, Konami introduced Sparkster, a rocket-powered opossum who shot to acclaim in the 1993 Genesis game Rocket Knight Adventures. However, that success was largely forgotten after just a single sequel, the following year's Super Nintendo and Genesis action game Sparkster.

It turns out that Konami's opossum mascot has simply been playing dead for the past 15 years, as the publisher has confirmed Sparkster's return in downloadable form. Set for release next year on the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and Steam, Rocket Knight will preserve the 2D gameplay of the original titles but will also introduce 3D graphics to the series.

Players will control Sparkster as he tries to take out an army of hostile wolves, mixing platforming levels with side-scrolling shoot-'em-up action on the way. Konami is also promising challenge levels, with players able to compare their best times through online leaderboards.