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Dom Robinson reviews

for

Distributed by
Sega

Price: FREE (when you register online)
Players : 1-4 (plus online)

Chu Chu Rocket. The title says it all doesn't it. Doesn't it?

It's about as Japanese as a UK release is going to get this year and makes about as much sense as Keyop from Battle of the Planets.

The story goes that on a far away planet there is a Space Port, inhabited by thousands of litte ChuChus and they're being invaded by the KapuKapus. In short - and in English - you have to lead a load of mice out of danger and into a rocket by placing directional arrows on the floor.

There's a one-player mode which presents 25 separate levels which have quite a simple edge to them in terms of design, but can be very tricky at times as a lot of them seem impossible until the brain cells fall into place and a solution presents itself. I completed all 25 in one hour.

A four-player mode is obviously the highlights though, with up to four humans playing with the Dreamcast making up the numbers. You will each get a quarter of the screen surrounding your rocket and can place a maximum of three directional arrows at once in a bid to get more mice home than the rest.

Such levels only last a few minutes and frequently include random squeaky Japanese female sayings such as :

Mouse Mania

Joanna Taylor

Hollyoaks

Everybody Move

There are also a number of other games modes to choose from including the ability to play online from June 9th, 2000 and those who register online via the Dreamarena site will be able to obtain a FREE copy of Chu Chu Rocket (UK and Europe only) which will obviously drive down sales in the shops of this game.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

The graphics are fast, colourful and funny, but only score near-half marks because they don't push the Dreamcast's capabilities anywhere near its potential. The sound technically doesn't fare much better, sounding rather like a Bontempi keyboard having an epileptic fit.

On the plus side though, the one thing in which this game excels is in playability. It's exceptionally easy to pick up and play without getting bogged down by difficult controls. Everything does seem rather manic a lot of the time, but if you stick with it, it does induce an essence of excitement and several times I was close to scooping the winner's title, but unfair play from the Dreamcast's AI ability stopped me winning (ok, so it was fair play and I'm just a sore loser! :)

game pic
Overall

However, while it is a lot of fun, the fun is short-lived because it won't really keep you coming back for more. It's a good laugh for a short while and I'd normally suggest a rental rather than a purchase, but when something's free...

GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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