Rocket: Robot on Wheels

Last updated
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
Rocket Robot on Wheels Cover.jpg
North American Nintendo 64 box art
Developer(s) Sucker Punch Productions
Publisher(s) Ubi Soft
Designer(s) Don Munsil
Composer(s) Ashif Hakik
Platform(s) Nintendo 64
Release
  • NA: November 17, 1999 [1]
  • EU: December 17, 1999
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a platform game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Ubi Soft for the Nintendo 64. It marked the first game developed by Sucker Punch, and their only game that it released on a Nintendo console, as Sucker Punch would be associated more closely with Sony Interactive Entertainment in its later years. In it, the player controls Rocket, the titular robot. Rocket: Robot on Wheels was the first game on a home platform to use a realistic physics engine to drive the gameplay. The player can solve puzzles dealing with mass, inertia, friction, and other physical properties.

Contents

Gameplay

The game has six differently themed worlds, all connected to a main "Whoopie World" hub area. Each world, along with the hub, contains 12 tickets and 200 tokens to collect. During gameplay, tickets are earned by completing different objectives in each world, such as assisting non-player characters, completing minigames, or collecting all the tokens in a world. A certain total number of tickets must be collected to open new worlds, while tokens can be exchanged with Tinker the maintenance robot for new abilities. Eight booster packs can also be collected, each of which will increase Rocket's maximum health. Each world has at least one vehicle that is used for solving puzzles and getting tickets; for example, the first world has a hot-dog-shaped car that the player can drive. Other tickets require finding seven machine parts in each world to reactivate a machine and gain access to new areas. After collecting enough tickets in the six worlds, the player can access the final stage, "Jojo World", to confront the antagonist, Jojo. The game's soundtrack features jazz and psychedelic tracks primarily dominated by organ and piano.

Plot

Rocket is a robot created by Dr. Gavin, the architect and owner of Whoopie World, a futuristic theme park. On the night before opening day, Gavin goes to a party, leaving Rocket in charge of the park and its two animal mascots: Whoopie the walrus and his sidekick Jojo the raccoon. Jojo, who is envious of Whoopie being the star attraction, secretly plots to ruin opening day and rebrand the park as Jojo World. As soon as Gavin leaves, Jojo escapes his cage, clobbers Rocket senseless with a mallet, and grabs all of the park's tickets and tokens. Jojo abducts Whoopie and teleports into the park, causing the attractions to go haywire. Rocket gives chase and begins exploring the many areas of the park, working to find the stolen tickets and tokens so he can catch Jojo and rescue Whoopie before Gavin returns.

After finding many of the missing tickets and tokens, Rocket confronts and defeats Jojo, freeing Whoopie just as Dr. Gavin returns. Gavin commends Rocket for his hard work before leaving again to repair Jojo's damage to the park before it opens. After finding all the tickets and tokens, Rocket is honored by Gavin for his achievements by renaming the park RocketLand, much to Whoopie's dismay.

Development

After Sucker Punch's founders left Microsoft and formed the studio, they decided to develop a game for the Nintendo 64. The team went to Nintendo to pitch the game but were rejected. Without development kits or tool libraries, they developed a prototype of the game using a PC. The developers pitched the prototype to Nintendo and received development kits, but Nintendo refused to publish the game.

They spent around a year creating the first level in the game, entirely self-funded and began pitching to multiple developers. Ironically they pitched the game to Sony Interactive Entertainment, who was impressed with it, but they stipulated the game still be released on N64 and later ported to the PlayStation. Nervous about both the concept not being mascot-centric and a potential game being on their biggest competitor's system, Sony declined. They also pitched to Electronic Arts and were on the cusp of breaking a deal, but it would require the game be cancelled and Sucker Punch start anew on a PlayStation 2 title. The team got cold feet about putting a game on the cutting board, so they continued to pitch it.

Eventually the team went to E3 1999 to present the game themselves, which produced positive coverage in gaming magazines such as Next Generation, catching the attention of Ubi Soft, who finally agreed to publish the game. In hindsight, the developers lament pitching the game when mostly complete and massively underestimating the process of getting a publisher. [2]

The game had initially been developed under the title Sprocket until three months before its release, when it was changed due to a trademark conflict with Game Sprockets. [3]

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. [4] Doug Trueman of NextGen called it "an attractive, almost anti-violent 3D puzzler with graphics intended for kids, but with some puzzles whose level of challenge is more appropriate for adults." [15] Lou Gubrious of GamePro said in one review that the game "works so well precisely because it is so different from the typical platform game. The realism of the gameplay, set in the surreal world of a cartoony theme park, makes this a game well worth any gamer's time." [17] [lower-alpha 2] However, Boba Fatt said in another review that the game's interface "is far more challenging than its puzzles or obstacles, making Rocket just one long, unrewarding exercise in tedium." [18] [lower-alpha 3]

The game was listed as the "18th Best Nintendo 64 Game of All Time" in Nintendo Power 's 20th anniversary issue. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Four critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game each a score of 6.5/10, 9/10, 7/10, and 6/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and fun factor, 3.5/5 for sound, and 4/5 for control.
  3. ↑ GamePro gave the game 3/5 for graphics, 2.5/5 for sound, 1/5 for control, and 2/5 for fun factor in another review.

Related Research Articles

<i>Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now</i> 1998 video game

Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now is a vehicular combat video game, the sequel to Carmageddon, and released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows. The game was developed by Stainless Games and published by Sales Curve Interactive in Europe and Interplay Entertainment in North America. Ports for Mac OS, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were released in 1999. A 2D version for the Game Boy Color was released in Europe in 1999, and in North America in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumble Pak</span> Haptic accessory for the Nintendo 64

The Rumble Pak is a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player in the game. Versions of the Rumble Pak are available for the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo DS, and the Nintendo DS Lite. A select few Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance (GBA) games use a similar technology built into the game cartridge. Force feedback vibration has become a built-in standard feature in almost every home video game console controller since.

<i>Pokémon Puzzle League</i> 2000 puzzle game for the Nintendo 64

Pokémon Puzzle League is a puzzle video game in the Puzzle League series developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Released in North America on September 25, 2000, and in Europe on March 2, 2001, its Puzzle League-based gameplay has a focus on puzzle-based strategy in the game's grid-based format. To advance to new levels, players are required to combat the game's trainers and gym leaders, similar to the ones featured in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow. One of several games based on the Pokémon anime, it features lead protagonist Ash Ketchum, his Pikachu, his companions Brock and Misty, the Kanto Gym Leaders, and other characters from the series.

<i>Pokémon Puzzle Challenge</i> 2000 video game for the Game Boy Color

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is a puzzle video game for the Game Boy Color, released in 2000 in Japan and North America, and in 2001 in PAL regions. It is the second Pokémon-themed entry in the Puzzle League series; however, while its Nintendo 64 counterpart Pokémon Puzzle League is visually based on the Pokemon anime, Puzzle Challenge instead draws inspiration from the Pokémon Gold and Silver games. The game features multiple modes of play and support for competitive play between two players. Puzzle Challenge was later digitally re-released via the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console line on November 6, 2014.

<i>Rocket Power: Beach Bandits</i> 2002 video game

Rocket Power: Beach Bandits is an adventure game based on the television series Rocket Power. It was published in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance by THQ.

<i>Tak and the Power of Juju</i> 2003 video game

Tak and the Power of Juju is an action-adventure platform video game developed by Avalanche Software and published by THQ for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was released in North America on October 15, 2003 and in Europe on March 12, 2004.

<i>Tetrisphere</i> 1997 video game

Tetrisphere is a puzzle video game developed by H2O Entertainment and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America on August 11, 1997, and in PAL regions in February 1998. The game, originally named Phear, was slated for release on the Atari Jaguar in early 1995, but was reworked into a Tetris game for the N64 after Nintendo obtained its publishing rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sucker Punch Productions</span> American video game developer

Sucker Punch Productions, LLC is an American video game developer based in Bellevue, Washington. It is best known for creating character action games for PlayStation consoles such as Sly Cooper, Infamous, and Ghost of Tsushima. The studio has been a part of PlayStation Studios since 2011. As of 2020, the company employs about 160 people.

<i>Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon</i> 1997 video game

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is a platform action-adventure video game released by Konami for the Nintendo 64 on August 7, 1997 in Japan, April 16, 1998 in North America, and 18 April 1998 in Europe as the fifth entry in the Ganbare Goemon series. The second Goemon game released in North America and Europe, it follows The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and features hybrid elements of platform games and action-adventure games.

<i>Goemons Great Adventure</i> 1998 video game

Goemon's Great Adventure, known as Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon in Europe, is a video game developed and released by Konami for the Nintendo 64 on December 23, 1998. It is the third game in the Goemon series released in North America and Europe, following Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, released two years earlier. Featuring platform gameplay in 2.5D, it returns the series to a side-scrolling format.

<i>Space Station Silicon Valley</i> 1998 video game

Space Station Silicon Valley is a platform video game developed by DMA Design and published by Take-Two Interactive. It was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in October 1998. An adaption of the game for Game Boy Color was developed by Tarantula Studios and released in 1999. A PlayStation port, developed by Runecraft, was released in 2000, under the name Evo's Space Adventures. Players control Evo, a robot reduced to a crawling microchip after a ship crash, and are tasked with taking control of animals to solve puzzles and defeat enemies.

<i>Neon Genesis Evangelion</i> (video game) Nintendo 64 video game

Neon Genesis Evangelion, also referred to as Neon Genesis Evangelion 64, is a 1999 fighting video game released for the Nintendo 64 in Japan by Bandai. It is based on the Gainax anime series of the same name and the 1997 film that serves as its conclusion, The End of Evangelion. Players control a mech named Evangelion Unit 01 to destroy a race of aliens known as the Angels before they eradicate the rest of the human race. The game is known for its alterations to the source material in order to make its dystopian and unsettling atmosphere suitable for an action game, and features unique endings and plotlines not present in other Evangelion media.

<i>Mission: Impossible</i> (1998 video game) 1998 video game

Mission: Impossible is an action-adventure video game developed by Infogrames and loosely based on the 1996 film of the same name. It was originally released for the Nintendo 64 video game console in 1998. In the game, the player assumes the role of Ethan Hunt, an Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent who must clear his name after a mole has infiltrated the IMF team. The game features 20 levels where the player must complete several mission objectives with the use of numerous high-tech gadgets.

<i>Lego Racers</i> (video game) 1999 racing video game

Lego Racers is a Lego-themed racing video game developed by High Voltage Software and published by Lego Media in 1999.

<i>Bomberman Land</i> (Wii) 2007 video game

Bomberman Land, known in Japan as Bomberman Land Wii, is an action puzzle video game developed and published by Hudson Soft. It was released in Japan for Wii on March 8, 2007, January 29, 2008 in North America, and March 14, 2008 in the PAL region. Part of the Bomberman franchise, it is the fifth game in the Bomberman Land series and the console counterpart to the portable version released for the PlayStation Portable later in the same month.

<i>Hot Wheels Turbo Racing</i> 1999 video game

Hot Wheels Turbo Racing is a racing video game released for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in 1999. It features 40 cars based on the Hot Wheels series of toys. It also features Kyle Petty's 1999 NASCAR stock car, as it was sponsored by Hot Wheels. The game features music from artists like Primus, Metallica, The Reverend Horton Heat and Mix Master Mike.

<i>40 Winks</i> (video game) 1999 video game

40 Winks is a platform video game developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and published by GT Interactive for the PlayStation. A version was developed for the Nintendo 64, and reviewed in both Nintendo Official Magazine UK and Nintendo Power, but was cancelled soon before release.

<i>Wade Hixtons Counter Punch</i> 2004 video game

Wade Hixton's Counter Punch is a boxing video game for Game Boy Advance. Its gameplay has been favorably compared to Punch-Out!!.

<i>The World Is Not Enough</i> (PlayStation video game) PlayStation video game

The World Is Not Enough is a first-person shooter video game developed by Black Ops Entertainment and based on the 1999 James Bond film of the same name. It was published by Electronic Arts and released for the PlayStation on November 7, 2000, shortly after the release of its Nintendo 64 counterpart. The World Is Not Enough is the successor to Black Ops Entertainment's 1999 title Tomorrow Never Dies and uses an improved version of its engine. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who criticised its short length and lack of multiplayer mode.

References

  1. ↑ IGN staff (1999-11-01). "N64 Games of November". IGN . Ziff Davis . Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  2. ↑ Moriarty, Colin (2014-09-12). "Something Electric in Bellevue: The History of Sucker Punch". IGN. Ziff Davis.
  3. ↑ IGN staff (1999-08-18). "Sprocket Will Never Be Released". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  4. 1 2 "Rocket: Robot on Wheels for Nintendo 64". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  5. ↑ Baize, Anthony. "Rocket: Robot on Wheels - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  6. ↑ Gaudiosi, Peyton (1999-12-10). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on 2000-08-23. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  7. ↑ Smith, Shawn; Johnston, Chris; Davidson, John; Hager, Dean (December 1999). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 125. Ziff Davis. p. 269. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Helgeson, Matt (November 1999). "Rocket: Robot On Wheels - Nintendo 64". Game Informer . No. 79. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on 2000-10-25. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  9. ↑ Buchanan, Levi "Angus" (1999-11-05). "REVIEW for Rocket: Robot on Wheels". GameFan . Shinno Media. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  10. ↑ Weitzner, Jason "Fury" (January 2000). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels". GameFan. Vol. 8, no. 1. Shinno Media. p. 63. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  11. ↑ MacDonald, Ryan (1999-12-15). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels Review". GameSpot . Red Ventures . Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  12. ↑ Shea, Cam (February 2000). "Review: Rocket: Robot on Wheels" (PDF). Hyper . No. 76. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 80–81. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  13. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (1999-11-24). "Rocket - Robot on Wheels". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  14. ↑ Bickham, Jes (Christmas 1999). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels [Import]". N64 Magazine . No. 36. Future Publishing. pp. 60–61.
  15. 1 2 Trueman, Doug (December 1999). "Rocket: The Robot on Wheels [sic]". NextGen . No. 60. Imagine Media. p. 107. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  16. ↑ "Rocket: Robot on Wheels". Nintendo Power . Vol. 126. Nintendo of America. November 1999. p. 140. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  17. ↑ Lou Gubrious (1999-12-02). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels Review for N64 on GamePro.com". GamePro . IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  18. ↑ Boba Fatt (December 1999). "Rocket: Robot on Wheels" (PDF). GamePro. No. 135. IDG Entertainment. p. 188. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  19. ↑ "Nintendo Power's Best of the Best". Nintendo Power. Vol. 231. Future US. August 2008. p. 74.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.