ChuChu Rocket!

"Chu Chu Rocket: Prepare to Blast Off!"

Chu Chu Rocket: Blast Off!
7/10
I've seen some puzzle games in my time...Tetris (the undisputed king of all puzzle games), Pokemon Puzzle League (a solid puzzle game, but takes some time to learn), and Dr. Mario (fun, but awkward). And I must say, Chu Chu Rocket is probably my second favorite puzzle game (Tetris being number 1). Read on to find out more about this addictive puzzle frenzy...
Controls: 6/10:
If you don't take the in-game tutorial or read the instruction booklet, you'll probably have a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to play this game...The control of this game is confusing, and doesn't suit the Dreamcast controller that well. If you just jump into this game, and try to start playing right away, you probablly won't get too far...
Game Play: 7/10:
Once you have gotten the hang of those controls, you'll have lots of fun playing the game! Basically, the idea is to control a herd of mice (called ChuChus) and lead them into rockets, so that they can blast away, and you can move onto the next level. Sounds easy right? Wrong! The first 5 levels are easy enough, because they are just getting you warmed up to the Chu Chu rocket experience. But then, they get progressively harder!
You must guide the Chu Chus so that they don't crash into any cats along the way (called KapuKapus) and that they don't fall into any holes. You are given a certain number of arrow directions to place upon the ground, for the ChuChus to follow, but you can place no more than that. Therefore, you must figure out the exact correct placement of the arrows...There is only ONE solution to each puzzle, so this can be a challenge.
Sometimes it gets boring, doing the same thing again and again, but there are ways to solve that...There is a multi-player mode! Up to 4 players can play against one another, trying to guide continuous ChuChus into rockets, while trying not to get your ChuChus guided by an opponents' arrows, or scooped up by the KapuKapus...You get more points for more ChuChus led into your rocket, and whoever has the most points when time runs out wins! Also, you can play a Team Battle, where its a two-on-two battle...The team member's points are combined at the end, and the team with the most points wins. There is also a Stage Challenge mode, where you must complete set tasks within a 30-second time limit. Plus, you can build your own puzzle by arranging walls, holes, rockets, KapuKapus, and ChuChus in the Puzzle Edit mode. Also, there is on-line play! However, Sega's on-line service is rumored to be inactive soon, so this service might not be enabled for long! Nonetheless, use it while you still can!
Graphics: 7/10:
There is NO choppyness in the graphics whatsoever! The graphics are cartoonish, yet solid. The graphics flow with the general idea of the game very well, which is a must in any type of video game.
Sound: 10/10:
I don't recall hearing any annoying sounds at all in this game, and (as with the graphics) they flowed well with the concept of this game.
Music: 8/10:
It isn't any Final Fantasy soundtrack...But are you actually expecting to hear a symphonic music track while playing a fun puzzle game?

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/02, Updated 04/20/03