Rocket: Robot on Wheels: Information from Answers.com Mobile

Rocket: Robot on Wheels

Release Date: November 17, 1999
Genre: Action
Style: 3D Platform
Similar Games: Chameleon Twist (Nintendo 64), Tonic Trouble (IBM PC Compatible), Tonic Trouble (Nintendo 64), Space Station: Silicon Valley (Nintendo 64), Chameleon Twist (Nintendo 64), Rayman 2: The Great Escape (IBM PC Compatible), Space Station: Silicon Valley (Game Boy Color), Starshot: Space Circus Fever (Nintendo 64), Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Nintendo 64), Rayman 2: The Great Escape (Dreamcast), Rayman 2: The Great Escape (PlayStation), Starshot: Space Circus Fever (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a 3D platform game starring a one-wheeled robot that uses a tractor beam to grab and manipulate objects. Riled raccoon Jojo is ruining an intergalactic amusement park by kidnapping mascot Whoopie Walrus and stealing all the tickets. To stop the rattled raccoon and save the park, Rocket will be able to scoot around, jump high in the air; swing from handles, and use his tractor beam to throw or smash objects. Mastering these techniques will enable Rocket to find all 12 tickets in each of the game's seven themed worlds. Along the way Rocket will repair broken machines, locate booster packs, and collect 200 Tinker tokens. The latter item is used to purchase enhancements or to operate an assortment of vehicles on each world. Players will uncover various secrets and even mini-games in their quest to rout a rambunctious raccoon.

~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a 3D platform game in the same style as 1996's Super Mario 64, but with distinctly different play mechanics. The emphasis is placed on interacting with environments, and the unique manipulation of objects (Rocket uses a tractor beam to pick up objects instead of grabbing them) makes it stand out from similar games in the genre.

~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

When I first popped Rocket: Robot on Wheels into my Nintendo 64, I thought I was going to be playing a watered-down Super Mario 64 or Banjo-Kazooie clone. Well, I was right and wrong. Obviously, Rocket: Robot on Wheels was heavily influenced by other 3D platform games, but there were enough original aspects to the game to keep me playing.

Graphically, Rocket: Robot on Wheels is fairly good. For a game introduced three years into the system's run, however, I did not see anything pushing the system's capabilities. The animators have rendered the characters well, and most of the scenery is sharp. There are some instances in the game where walls disappear or shapes merge, but those bugs are rare.

On the sound side, Rocket: Robot on Wheels is somewhat pedestrian. Don't get me wrong, the effects and music are good, but I simply did not hear anything new. I would say Rocket: Robot on Wheels is average for its time.

While I found myself getting bored with Rocket: Robot on Wheels the first few times I played, I found myself enjoying it more and more during subsequent game sessions. I was missing a lot of the hidden stuff the first few times I played, and it is the hidden stuff that makes Rocket: Robot on Wheels worth playing.

Rocket: Robot on Wheels contains a roller coaster mini-game that is great fun. First you build it, then you ride it. I missed this mini-game the first four or five times I played Rocket: Robot on Wheels. If I hadn't found it, I probably would have gotten extremely burned out and stopped playing. Fortunately, the roller coaster game kept me playing and got me searching for additional hidden treasures.

While a lot of the mini-games were fun, I still found myself getting frustrated during the game's basic search mode. When I cannot find that last piece of machinery or make it to the next hidden level, I get bored with a game. I have found that I must play games like Rocket: Robot on Wheels in one long sitting, or I might put it down and never pick it back up.

So, while some hidden features of Rocket: Robot on Wheels kept me coming back for multiple gaming sessions, I began to find less and less to get excited about during gameplay. As my ability to find hidden stuff in Rocket: Robot on Wheels dissipated, so did my interest in the game.

Overall, Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a good attempt at a stale format. I cannot give it an extremely high rating, because its main concept -- searching for things -- is not new. I am comfortable labeling it as an above-average game, because there are enough hidden treasures that separate it from other titles in the genre.