Reviews

Rocket: Robot on Wheels

By Corey

Rocket features gameplay similarities to Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. Does that make it a good game though? Let's find out...

Graphics: 8

Not the most impressive on the system, but they get the job done. Since the game takes place in an amusement park, there are lots of lights and carnival things around. You do get a feeling that you are in the area you are playing in. Enemies such as those annoying clowns dress up differently for wherever you may be at the time, which is a nice touch.

Gameplay: 8

Like I mentioned in the opening, the gameplay is similar to Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, so you know what to expect if you've played them. There are a total of 6 worlds, well 7 if you count the main area of Whoopie World. In all of these areas there are 12 tickets and 200 tinker tokens. The Tickets act like Stars and Jiggies in that they are needed to open up new worlds. The tokens are needed to gain new abilities and ride vehicles. If the sound of collecting all that worries you, it shouldn't. While going for the tickets, which involve completing certain tasks and solving some difficult puzzles (though you do get a clue as to where they are and maybe how to get them), most of the time tokens are on your main path. In fact, I think in every level but one I found all of the tokens before the tickets. So don't expect a scavenger hunt like DK64. You can beat every level completely the first time you enter too. And if you're still worried about collecting all of this, you really only need about half of the tokens and 75% of the tickets to beat the game.

Now I mentioned vehicles. In every stage there will be at least 1 vehicle you will need to find a couple of the tickets. While most are fun to just drive/fly in, they can be tough to control while going for one of the tickets you need. Some are slow, some don't turn much, and one is just very difficult to control altogether. With that said though, practice makes perfect. Just going on a joy ride with all of the vehicles will get you used to them and you'll have little problems. It is actually fun to use a couple of these too, especially the Glider Bike.

To get a little more in depth into gameplay, it is a platformer so expect a lot of jumping. Going from platform to platform is a big part of getting around. But that's not all you do. You'll also have to do some swinging, which is pretty easy to do and at times fun. Solving puzzles is also another big part of the game, and some can be pretty difficult. Building a roller coaster in the first level is actually pretty tough if you don't know what you're doing, but that's the most out of whack thing you'll do. In addition to all of that, you'll be taking some rides. You'll ride the aforementioned roller coaster, a mine cart (like I've said before, I think it's a rule that you must ride a mine cart in platformers), and a couple other things too. Guess what? There's more! There are some mini-games scattered around here too. One such game is Tic-Tac-Toe against a mechanical chicken. You could try and win normally, or you can find a way to cheat if you want to put it out to pasture quickly. Now most games aren't like this, but I wanted to point this one out. Plus there is an ocassional moment of humor put in here and there to keep things fresh.

What about the camera? Like almost all 3D platformers, this is a problem. Not really that annoying, but at times it can get in your way so move so you can't see stuff in front of you. Most of the time you can just use the C Buttons to fix it, but every so often it won't let you and you'll have to make a blind jump. Still, overall it's pretty good.

Sound: 7

The music goes along with the theme of the game. You'll get plenty of carnival theme music that actually isn't so bad. You may get sick of it as you get later into the game. Sound effects aren't so bad, but I do have to mention something. Whenever you use the C Button to move the camera, it makes a noise. At about the 3rd level the noise really started to get on my nerves. I ended up turning the sound off for a while because I couldn't take it. Hopefully it doesn't irritate you like it did me.

Lasting Value: 7

The game is rather short. It only took me about 13 hours to completely beat. The good news is that there is replay in the game if you liked driving the vehicles. When you are bored, just going racing around in the Dune Dog or gliding with the Glider Bike. Other than that, the only reason to keep playing is if you want to play through the whole game again, which you might want to.

Bottom Line

I picked this up new for $20 and I definitely got my moneys worth. Any fan of the genre or Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie should pick this game up as soon as possible. Though its not quite as good, is has got to be the biggest sleeper on the N64.

Final Score: 8 out 10