Sneakers: Information from Answers.com

Release Date: October 29, 2002
Genre: Action
Style: Third-Person 3D Action
Similar Games: Pitfall: The Lost Expedition (Xbox), Grabbed by the Ghoulies (Xbox), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Xbox)

Game Description

Take the role of a cute but tough mouse to lead your homies through larger-than-life escapades and rodent-sized gang rivalry. Sneakers is a team-based adventure featuring a cast of anthropomorphic mice. Much of the game takes place in and around the relatively enormous human household that these mice call home. Though it is the large environments, the realistic textures and lighting, and above all the mouse characters themselves that define the outward style of this release, the original concept of Sneakers was simply for a game in which characters must work as a group. This idea carries throughout the adventure. Different mice may interact differently with objects in the game and many challenges require teamwork.

Movement in Sneakers seems more similar to that of a survival horror adventure than of a regular 3D platform game. Characters run along set paths, viewed from different camera angles to emphasize the sense of three-dimensional space. It is also possible at times to "free look" around from the characters' perspective. As the main character finds his way through the house, he meets up with other mice who may be convinced to join his gang. A small cursor allows interaction with characters and objects. In addition to exploring the oversized domicile and scouting for food, the player's mice must also protect their territory from a rival gang of mice. It may even take an all-out rodent rumble to remind encroachers who's in charge of the home turf.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

Developed by Media Vision and published by Microsoft, the Japanese version of this first-party Xbox release is distinguished as one of only two February 2002 launch titles not previously available in the US (the other is KOEI Co.'s Nobunaga's Ambition: Chronicles of Chaos). The game is titled Nezmix in Japan.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Sneakers has a stench not even a pair of Odor Eaters can mask. It is hard to believe this was the title Microsoft touted for its Japanese console launch, and after playing you'll understand why the system failed to entice the buying public. Sneakers is a game ostensibly designed for children, with its cute cast of characters and mix of hide-and-seek action and comic fighting, but its utter contempt for standard conventions of the 3D genre will appeal to no segment of the population. A bad game is a bad game, no matter where it's released or who it's aimed at. By restricting the player's control and freedom to explore, children won't understand what's expected of them and older players will be sickened by the game's condescending simplicity.

Sneakers involves a cast of mice, a gang of sorts, but players aren't given the opportunity to choose their ragtag party. Of course, it soon becomes apparent that it doesn't matter who is following behind lead character Apollo, because there is no significant strategy or puzzle solving to be found in the game. The bulk of the "action" is guiding Apollo in one of four directions until a rival mouse is spotted. If another mouse is found, players aim a targeting cursor over its body and squeeze the controller's trigger to scare it away. Play then continues until the rest of the mice are found. Periodic battles may occur, where players slap a few attack buttons in a sluggish take on Rock'em Sock'em Robots.

The hide-and-seek aspect of the game would have been perfectly acceptable had the interface not been so poorly designed. Instead of having free reign over the environment, scurrying up a chair or navigating the dangers of a world 100 times the size of the characters, players instead must follow four to five pre-defined routes within each room or section. Walking is funny looking, as each rodent moves with approximately two frames of animation, so most of the time is spent running in a straight line. Interacting with the environment is almost non-existent, other than switching to the first-person viewpoint and checking certain objects. As sad is it may seem, not everything can be checked.

The five environments include Apollo's house, a back alley, Central Park, a bridge, and a wine cellar. All include objects that may or may not be "checked" by the mice. For example, checking a basket will knock it over to reveal a rival or a hidden snack. Checking a loose power plug underneath the bed will activate a lamp once the power switch is switched on. Not all of the objects can be checked however, which seems rather lazy of developers given the finite nature where players can go. Why not make everything interactive? Clicking on a dresser should at least open the drawers, right? Disney's Magical Mirror, a game that also featured point-and-click action, at least let players do this token amount of exploration.

Any 3D mascot game designed for children should enable them to freely guide the character around the environment. Even if they don't understand all of the objectives, they can at least have fun directly guiding a cute character in an expansive world. In Sneakers, navigation around the rooms is confusing to the point where it's unclear where players are in relation to the door leading to the next room. It's like knowing where to go on a map but being restricted by a seemingly endless series of one-way streets. Objectives remain the same in each of the five areas: walk around the predefined routes and check for mice. Once all the mice are found, a boss battle ensues.

Could this game have been saved? Absolutely. Make each of the five environments free roaming for starters. Have the mice appear in different locations each time the game is played, encouraging replay value. Have an optional game mode where players have to set creative traps to catch the mice. Include puzzles that can only be solved using a particular mouse's inherent abilities (strength, speed, jumping, etc). In short, there are countless possibilities using the same basic idea that would have made the game fun and encouraged replay value. In its current form, Sneakers is a waste; a coaster of a game worth a look only to laugh at how limited and simplistic a title can be, especially one released in 2002 on a powerful 128-bit system. For the same price, players can buy a real pair of sneakers and run far away from shoddy titles like this. This mouse hunt is nothing but cheese.