''Rocketmen'' was a constructible strategy game produced by WizKids and released in 2005 and discontinued in 2006. Part of its marketing included animated adventures based on the character of Nick Sion, a rebel and adventurer facing the evil alliance of Terra and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...

. Announced by

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It has created a number of multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being '' Resident Evil'', '' Monster Hunter'', '' Street Fighter'', '' Mega Man'', '' ...

, '' Rocketmen: Axis Of Evil'', a downloadable arcade style video game based on the constructible strategy game, was slated to be released Fall 2007 for the

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smar ...

and

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independen ...

. ''Rocketmen: Axis of Evil'' received a ''Vanguard Unique Game Award'' at the 2006

Origins Game Fair Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was ch ...

Description

Similar to Wizkids's sailing-themed ''

Pirates of the Spanish Main The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc., with aspects of both miniatures game and collectible card game genres. "Pirates of the Spanish Main" (the initial release of the ''Pirates'' line) is the ...

'', ''Rocketmen'' is a game featuring spaceships constructed from

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is ...

cards purchased in randomly assorted

booster pack In collectible card games, digital collectible card games and collectible miniature wargames, a booster pack is a sealed package of cards or figurines, designed to add to a player's collection. A box of multiple booster packs is referred to as a ...

s. Ships can be customized with various crew and equipment configurations, all of which are used to construct a single fleet. A single booster pack can contain enough for a basic game (two ships, a crew card, a resource card, an asteroid card, a die, and a rules booklet), but maximum customizability requires access to a wider collection. Ship Types include: *Fighter Squadrons *Rocketships *Cruisers *

Space Station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...

s *Harvesters Pod Types include: *Arc

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

(red) *

Shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

(blue) *

Tractor beam A tractor-beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. The concept originates in fiction: The term was coined by E. E. Smith (an update of his earlier "attractor-beam") in his novel ''Spacehounds of IPC'' (19 ...

(purple) In addition, there are

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...

cards used as a home base during most scenarios. There are also resource chips (called microids) used to construct ships held in reserve in certain games, or as victory points in others.

Factions

The setting for ''Rocketmen: Axis of Evil'' is heavily influenced by

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

-era

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...

s. *''Legion of Terra'' – ruled by a xenophobic totalitarian leader Lord Invictus, the Legion of Terra is a vastly powerful army of disciplined soldiers *''Mars'' – allied with Terra in the Axis of Evil, the green-skinned Martians have a society entirely based on war *''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

'' – part of the Alliance of Free Planets, the blue-skinned Venusians are a people who believe in logic, science, and pacifism and follow a matriarchal society. *'' Mercury'' – part of the Alliance of Free Planets yet traditional enemies of the people of Venus, the golden-skinned Amazon warriors of Mercury are also a matriarchal society, ruled by the Empress Armada. *''Rebels'' – part of the Alliance of Free Planets, the Terran Rebels fight against their own people in an effort to free Earth

Sets

*''Axis of Evil'' – Base set. *''Battle of Titans'' – Released December 2005. This set introduced the factions of

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; ...

, Io, and Ganymede. It also added the

pod type (purple), the Harvester ship and

Torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

Web Episodes

Seven episodes were produced based on the Rocketmen game featuring the protagonist Nick Sion, a member of the Alliance of Free Planets, as they take on the Axis of Evil.

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrila ...

References

{{reflist

External links

''Rocketmen'' homepage
at WizKids (This page no longer exists.)
Web Episodes
Card games introduced in 2005 Miniature wargames Collectible miniatures games Fiction about the Solar System Origins Award winners WizKids games Jordan Weisman games