Line #37 VideoGame/Rochard


1	[[quoteright:252:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rochard_Cover_4233.PNG]]
2	-> ''"Rock is hard. John Rochard is harder."'' - TagLine
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4	-> ''"Turbinium. Space Diesel, we called it. It had been four years and thirteen asteroid fields since we'd found any. Our team had been on a long streak of bad luck. And the latest asteroid we were drillin' was the worst. That day we'd blown a turbo from a drill rig, and I was returning to the rock with a new one. That was the day of the big find. The day our luck changed. I shoulda known then there's no such thing as coincidence. It's all connected. Yeah, talk about a bad day gone worse..."'' John Rochard, giving the OpeningNarration.
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6	''Rochard'' is a [[ScienceFiction Sci-Fi]] [[SideView side-scrolling]] PlatformGame developed by Recoil Games and published by Sony Online Entertainment. It came out on September 27, 2011, for Platform/PlayStation3 in the United States, and in Europe the following day. The game was released for Platform/{{Steam}} worldwide on November 15.
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8	The OpeningNarration above covers most of what you need to know. It's TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. [[PlayerCharacter You are]] [[TheHero John Rochard]], hard-working {{Asteroid Miner\|s}}. [[RockBottom You're down on your luck,]] [[NoOSHACompliance your equipment is falling apart]] [[MillionToOneChance and no sooner does your crew turn up a mysterious find]] than SpacePirates show up to ruin your day. [[LetsGetDangerous Time to show them the door.]]
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10	You begin the game with a G-Lifter: a handy tool that can grab certain objects (mostly [[CrateExpectations crates]]) and toss them about. Gameplay involves negotiating various rooms occupied by [[WreakingHavok physics-based puzzles]] and enemies. You can move objects with the G-Lifter and [[GravityScrew engage low-gravity]] at will in order to solve these puzzles. To fight enemies, you can [[GoombaStomp jump on their heads]], [[EmergencyWeapon hit them with the G-Lifter]], [[WreakingHavok or toss objects at them]]. [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Or just shoot them,]] [[EvolvingWeapon once you have the Rock Blaster upgrade.]] [[StuffBlowingUp Or blow them up]], when you get [[LampshadeHanging Explosium]] [[GrenadeLauncher charges]].
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12	The game happens to have a bit of star power behind it: Creator/JonStJohn provides the voice of Rochard, and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen of Music/PoetsOfTheFall composed the soundtrack, with the full band on board for the theme song, "[[https://youtu.be/Ocqtd4SYo7M?list=PLIXpL9mz02mJS0ox-8Ll9lxlOzM8D6I7- Grinder's Blues]]". The soundtrack can be bought with the game for a modest price.
13	----
14	!!''Rochard'' provides examples of:
15	* ActorAllusion: During a conversation [[NeverTellMeTheOdds where they discuss his odds of success]], Skyler says to Rochard: "[[VideoGame/DukeNukem Always bet on the miner.]]"
16	* AmbiguouslyGay: The Skypolice troops. They speak with a heavy lisp, die with effeminate yelps, and while idle they utter phrases like ''"I need a pedicure..."''
17	* [[spoiler:AncientAstronauts: TheGreys! Floyd claims they came to Earth ages ago and created man, or at least the Native Americans. The temples, the disc and the statue Maximilian seeks are of their making.]]
18	* ArcWords: It's all connected...
19	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Skyler's Uncle Floyd describes Maximilian as having lost his true path--and quite possibly cheats at poker.
20	* AsteroidMiners: John and his crew, Skyler and Zander. The three of them have the physical prowess to prove it.
21	* AttackDrone: Found throughout the game, usually armed with a small pulse laser but occasionally a much more damaging continuous-fire beam. [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience The ones with the beam have flame-colored paint-jobs.]]
22	* BigFun: Rochard, contrasting LeanAndMean Maximilian.
23	* BottomlessMagazines: The Rock Blaster is limited only by [[{{Overheating}} a heat meter]].
24	* {{Bottomless Pit\|s}}: Rare, but present.
25	* ChekhovsGun: One of the parts John brings back to the mine in the intro is a critical component for something called ''Switchblade''. Zander claim's he's fixed it. Later on, when Rochard needs to get back to the [[spoiler: Zeronimo Casino, he finds that Maximilian overlooked one particular craft...]]
26	* CliffHanger: [[spoiler:John and Skyler end up getting sucked through the portal to wherever Maximilian ended up.]]
27	* CoolShip: ''Switchblade.''
28	* CrateExpectations: Though of greater use then in most games. You can't break them, but you can toss them at enemies or stack them to reach high places. There are some areas with [[WreakingHavok see-saw puzzles or weight-sensitive platforms]] where they also come in handy.
29	* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Poor Zander...]]
30	* EnergyWeapons: The Rock Blaster upgrade for the G-Lifter, and pretty much any enemy weapon that isn't a missile.
31	* TheEngineer: John, to an extent. His bright-yellow mining jumpsuit and matching hat helps the image.
32	* ExplodingBarrels: Smaller then most, useful mostly for picking up with the G-Lifter and tossing them at enemies.
33	* ExpositoryThemeTune: "[[https://youtu.be/Ocqtd4SYo7M?list=PLIXpL9mz02mJS0ox-8Ll9lxlOzM8D6I7- Grinder's Blues]]," the {{Rockabilly}} ThemeSong where Rochard laments that he and his crew can't deliver on the quotas set forth by their boss, and he can't think of any solution.
34	* {{Expy}}: The G-Lifter, of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'''s Gravity Gun. It can pick up physics objects and throw them, [[spoiler: and even gains an EleventhHourSuperpower that turns it blue and enables it to pick up people]].
35	* {{Foreshadowing}}: When John finds the [[spoiler:SuperPrototype "Helga" G-Lifter]], he wonders why it's already been activated. [[spoiler:[[TheEndOrIsIt Cue its lights continuing to flash after John and Skyler get sucked into the portal...]]]]
36	* GogglesDoNothing: John's goggles are always on his hat.
37	* GoombaStomp: Landing on a human enemy is a OneHitKill.
38	* GravityIsPurple: The gravitational beams of the G-Lifter.
39	* GravityScrew: You can engage low gravity at will in most areas, after hitting a specific switch. This is needed to lift the large crates and clear many jumps. However, you will occasionally enter a room that is stuck in low gravity, or even has inverted gravity.
40	* InfiniteSupplies: The [[StuffBlowingUp Explosium charges]] can be refilled an unlimited number of times at special dispensers, [[BenevolentArchitecture which are always found near where you need to use the charges]].
41	* MacGuffin: The disc.
42	* MagicalNativeAmerican: {{Subverted\|Trope}} by Floyd. [[BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins Though he does wear feathers in his hair]], his powers are limited to being [[HoldTheLine a pretty good shot]] and [[spoiler:having studied the [[{{Seers}} Precursors]] at length]]. When he starts talking serious MagiBabble, Skyler knows he's stalling.
43	* NativeAmericanCasino: [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]] Floyd owns the Zeronimo casino. Many parts of it are decorated to look like the Arizona badlands.
44	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The crew could have been saved a trip to Skyrig Headquarters if Floyd had not [[spoiler: lost the disc to Maximilian]] in a poker game.
45	* OhNoNotAgain:
46	-->'''PA''': Error. SR 215 detector fail-ail-ail Vrrt Materiallift feier eins acht, automatische kaputt.
47	-->'''Rochard''': Oh man, automatische kaputt again? Could you not fall apart every ten minutes!
48	* OneHitKill: John's [[PistolWhip melee attacks]] and {{Goomba Stomp}}s. Inversely, touching the lasers emitted by the large stationary cannons will kill him instantly.
49	* OneLiner: John has a few, of a decidedly southern-fried flavor.
50	-->'''Rochard:''' "[[BondOneLiner Haha, ya'll come back now!]]"''
51	* PercussiveMaintenance: How John upgrades the G-Lifter.
52	--> '''Rochard:''' "Beat it to fit, an' paint it to match!"
53	* PistolWhipping: You can hit enemies with the butt of the G-Lifter.
54	* PopStarComposer: Finnish AlternativeRock band Music/PoetsOfTheFall's Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen did the soundtrack, while the whole band performed its {{Rockabilly}} ThemeSong, "[[https://youtu.be/Ocqtd4SYo7M?list=PLIXpL9mz02mJS0ox-8Ll9lxlOzM8D6I7- Grinder's Blues]]."
55	* {{Pun}}: It's pronounced Row-Chard, but considering John's [[AsteroidMiners occupation]] and the game's tagline, you wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was "Rock Hard".
56	* RunningGag: Maximilian's height. He's repeatedly described as "that short-legged guy."
57	* SentryGun: Laser turrets abound. [[WeakTurretGun They're easy enough to destroy]], and can even be grabbed and tossed at enemies with a certain upgrade.
58	* SomethingBlues: "[[https://youtu.be/Ocqtd4SYo7M?list=PLIXpL9mz02mJS0ox-8Ll9lxlOzM8D6I7- Grinder's Blues]]," the {{Rockabilly}} ThemeSong where Rochard himself laments that he and his crew are barely skating by.
59	* SouthernFriedGenius: John, to some extent. He's clever, [[TheEngineer knows his way around his equipment]] and even manages to keep up with at least some of Floyd's [[InfoDump exposition about]] [[spoiler: TheGreys]].
60	* SpacePirates: The Wild Boys. They're pretty dumb, [[{{Mooks}} but numerous]] and have {{Attack Drone}}s and {{Sentry Gun}}s.
61	* StuffBlowingUp: Drones and turrets blow up when destroyed, as do the occasional glowing red canisters. You can do this yourself with remotely-detonated Explosium charges.
62	* VillainousWidowsPeak: Maximilian. [[spoiler:This might clue you in early as to his status as the BigBad.]]
63	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: This is Skyler's main role. She opens some doors for you and alerts you when enemies are closing in.
64	* WalkieTalkieGagOver: Maximillian exits the video communication with "over and out", but doesn't use "over" during the conversation.
65	* WreakingHavok: All over the place. Among other things, you can fire a crate away from yourself while in the air in low gravity, and get an extra boost.

Context VideoGame / Rochard