Product Description
-------------------
Online gaming has arrived on the Dreamcast! Chu Chu Rocket is
the first game to fully utilize the Internet connectivity of the
Dreamcast. This simple (but very addictive) puzzle game is
strongly reminiscent of the traditional "cat-and-mouse" game.
Your goal is to herd some intergalactic rats (the strangely-named
Chu Chus) into a rocket, while avoiding some whacked-out space
cats (a.k.a. Kapu Kapus) that are in fast pursuit.
While the bare-d graphics won't win any design awards, Chu
Chu Rocket does offer an impressive online gaming experience. In
addition to the solo mode, the game lets you connect with gamers
from around the world for true multiplayer madness. Whether you
compete against others or tag-team to solve the puzzles, Chu Chu
Rocket provides an exciting entry point into the emerging world
of networked gaming. (Note: Online features require players to
have an existing ISP connection, sold separately.)
.com
----
EyeToy is best enjoyed by groups Online gaming has arrived on
the Dreamcast! Chu Chu Rocket is the first \ game to fully
utilize the Internet connectivity of the Dreamcast. This simple
(but very addic\ tive) puzzle game is strongly reminiscent of the
traditional "cat-and-mouse" game. Your goal is to herd some \
intergalactic rats (the strangely-named Chu Chus) into a rocket,
while avoiding some whacked-out space \ cats (a.k.a. Kapu Kapus)
that are in fast pursuit.
While the bare-d graphics won't win any design awards, Chu
Chu Rocket does offer an impressive online gaming experience. In
addition to the solo mode, the game let\ s you connect with
gamers from around the world for true multiplayer madness.
Whether you compete against\ others or tag-team to solve the
puzzles, Chu Chu Rocket provides an exciting entry point into \
the emerging world of networked gaming. (Note: Online features
require players to have an existing IS\ P connection, sold
separately.)
Review
------
Controlled madness is what great puzzle games are made of. When
frenzy is harnessed then unleashed - that's where the competition
is fiercest and the moments tensest. The rewards are also the
greatest. Sonic Team has tapped into the power of the ancient
animosity between mouse and cat, added a dash of
technoamphetamine, and wrought Chu-Chu Rocket - the most violent
game senators won't try to ban - upon the world. You might be
skeptical. It's natural for everyone but the rabid niche to look
askance at these characters - the delirious orange bubble of the
neko (cat) and the pasty, panicked blobs of the nezumi (mice) -
and wonder what Sonic Team is wasting its time on when it could
be making sequels to Sonic Adventure or NiGHTS. The answer is:
the best multiplayer puzzle game we've seen in years. The
presentation might be simple, and the game might lack the bells
and whistles we crave from that still-shiny Dreamcast, but the
solidity of this game cannot be denied. The premise is simple.It
should only take you a few moments to learn this game, which is
the hook of all great puzzlers. The playfield contains rockets (a
target) and a generator (which releases mice). The point of the
game is to shuttle mice into your rocket, and when the time runs
out, the person with the most mice wins. How do you accomplish
this? You lay arrow tiles on the ground, and any character
walking across an arrow tile will immediately switch direction
and go the way it points. While mice contribute to your score
(which is, in fact, just the number of mice you have in your
rocket), cats detract from your score by consuming a percentage
of the mice in your rocket. Cats will also eat any mice in their
path. Mixing it up even more are the mystery mice, which are pink
in color - whenever they enter your ship, a random effect occurs.
The mouse or cat population might skyrocket, for example, or the
rockets might switch places - not to mention that things might
slow down, speed up, or freeze momentarily; cats might be given
to the three unlucky competitors who had not picked up the pink
mouse; or that other random circumstances might happen,
accompanied by the high-pitched voice of a girl screaming her
lungs out. In addition to this mode, which can be played by up to
four people (empty slots are invariably taken up by CPU players),
there's a team version, where you pair off in twos. There is also
a puzzle mode, where you're given a limited number of tiles and
then you must rescue all the mice. Your brain hasn't experienced
this sort of pain since the SAT. You can even design your own
puzzles in edit mode. Let's not forget challenge mode, a timed
mouse-rescue exercise that can be played by one or two players,
and what could've been the crowning gem of Chu-Chu Rocket, the
network mode. Unfortunately, due to the high lag involved in a
modem-based network game, this mode does not live up to the
potential it had. As the game sometimes warns you during the
inordinately long wait between starting an online game and
entering one, it takes longer to put down arrows in an online
game. Basically, you'll be waiting between one and five seconds
for your arrow tiles to show up after you plunk 'em down - this
can lead to some extremely frustrating moments. Chu-Chu is
definitely better with a room full of friends than it is played
over the internet. The graphics in Chu-Chu are basic, and while
it's all polygonal, there's ultimately a 2D experience to be had
- but if you're quibbling over the graphics you're probably too
self-conscious to enjoy a game that involves cats and mice. The
music is a great mix of jungle and funky Sonic Team goodness -
the kind of bouncy tunes Sonic Adventure should've had more of.
Hyperactive grinds and chirpy game music mesh, and it's so good.
The control is simple and sensible, and you won't be complaining
or getting lost. In short, Sonic Team has created a party
experience for the ages - like Bomberman, the best idea is to
grab a bunch of friends and go head-to-head. While you might not
get a chance to go network, the discount pricing and simplistic
interface means you can plunk even your most recalcitrant
nongaming friends in front of this game, and they'll be sucked
into the Chu-Chuverse. The only black mark is the lag in network
mode, and that's more an inconvenience than a misery. Hopefully
Sega's proposed cable modem interface will alleviate this. That
being said, if you like combative puzzlers, Chu-Chu is definitely
a rocket you won't want to miss. --Christian Nutt
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
