28/01/2019

Rocket: Robot on Wheels

Fishy, fishy, fishy?




Ernest Rutherford is quoted as saying 'that which is not is physics is stamp collecting'. Little did we know at the time that he wasn't referring to the various fields of science and how they look at the Universe, but accurately describing the gameplay of the largely unknown Rocket: Robot on Wheels.

Just how could a physicist at the turn of the 20th century know about a Nintendo 64 title released at the turn of the 21st? The miracles of science...




Fun Times


Whoopie World opens tomorrow, but in just a jiffy, the jealous Jojo breaks free of his cage, kidnaps Whoopie the Walrus, scatters all the tokens and tickets that were nicely stacked and waiting for work and gives us quite the headache to deal with. How are we going to restore order in a single night? We're just a little maintenance robot!




If the Nintendo 64 had one defining genre, according to the 1001 list it'd be the hub world platform adventure spanning themed environments and stuffed with countless collectables. That's exactly what Rocket is, but Rocket stands out not with its theme or characters, but its physics engine.




This game, in places, feels like it couldn't ever have been released on the N64, and yet it was. I'm sure the N64 was capable of a fair few things, but I struggle to picture physics as being one of them, and playing Rocket had me double checking what system I was emulating.

You have mass, momentum, inertia and you can feel it in every movement, every jump. While I was taking screenshots I was thinking 'this has to be a video instead', but I don't think that would get across what it's like at all. You need to feel this game to get a real sense of what I'm on about.




Frustrations


This is a game that allows you to pick up and throw trash cans at opponents. It's a game with theme-park themed physics-based minigames to make progress through levels. It's a physics simulation covered in a video game skin... and not one that appeals.

I've spent many, many, many hours in video games collecting things. Sometimes it's worth it. Sometimes it's not important to even bother with. Sometimes it just feels right to collect stuff. But here, in Rocket, it feels like 'we need a game. Banjo, Mario... what item can we lose a hundred times in a level too?'

Tickets and tokens are the big deal here, each unlocking something you'll need for the future - entry to a new level, an upgrade to your abilities, a vehicle to drive around in order to win more tickets and tokens...




So you need to explore the levels looking for all this stuff, obviously, and if you can't do something now, it's probably just a case of exploring some more and finding a way that enables you to do that something eventually.

I might have had time for that a long time ago, but these days a game has to be particularly good to keep me invested, for whatever reason that is. Rocket isn't going to be one of those games. Especially after trying to get this ticket.




Three-dimensional platform jumping. Check.
Wobbly platforms. Check.
Uncertain jumping distance dependant on run up distance. Check.
Inverted camera controls. Check.
... that alter the facing of the character when used. Check.
... and have a sound effect for every change of position. Check.
Missing the grapple point for inexplicable reasons. Oh yeah. We got 'em all here guys.


Final Word


Rocket: Robot on Wheels is another hidden gem of the 1001 list. I had no idea it existed, and while I wasn't (and still aren't) interested in the setting or the characters, the feeling of actually moving Rocket around a level took me by surprise.

I didn't have an N64 as a child, and the one I've got nowadays has issues and likely won't get used again. Have I missed out on quite a bit of video game history? It certainly seems so, and it seems like many gamers missed out on Rocket back in the day too.

That probably includes you, and you should rectify that to find out what Rocket feels like in your hands. If for some reason you're more interested in the plot than the physics, there's a short speedrun on YouTube that'll have you covered.

I might watch that myself, to see what you can pull off in this physics playground - probably something involving glitches and abusing the engine, so that'll be fun. But other than that, I'm unlikely to try and bounce over those boxes again. Nice to know they're there, though I did stumble upon them by chance...


Fun Facts


Rocket was close to being called Sprocket until trademark laws got in the way. Rightly so, of course. That's why they exist...

Rocket: Robot on Wheels, developed by Sucker Punch Productions, first released in 1999.
Version played: Nintendo 64, 1999, via emulation.