ChuChu Rocket

egas quirky mix of action and puzzle-solving goes portable with this release of ChuChu Rocket!, a launch title for Nintendos 32-bit Game Boy Advance handheld. A sleeper hit in Japan, the Dreamcast version of this title has earned many devotees in the United States as well.

ChuChu Rocket! is a game of cat and mouse with a cartoonish, outer-space theme. Each game board features lots of quick little space mice that scurry forth from an entrance panel single-file, like a ChuChu train. The mice behave according to a few basic rules: when they run into a wall they always turn right and when they move across one of the arrows that are placed on the floor, they change direction to follow where it is pointing. The mice are chased by one or more KapuKapus, hungry space cats that move around the board following the same basic rules as their prey.

The players goal is to steer as many of the little ChuChu mice as possible towards the safety of a rocket ship that will help them escape from the cats. The player places arrows on the floor to steer the flow of mice and help them to avoid the hungry kitties. A time limit adds to the challenge. The original Sega Dreamcast version of this game features several multiplayer modes of play and this Game Boy Advance title follows suit, allowing up to four ChuChu Rocket! gamers to compete head-to-head using a link cable.