GAME
Puzzle videogames like Tetris or Bust-a-Move require thought, but they seldom make sense. Why, exactly, are colored blocks tumbling down on Soviet Russia? And why do two dragons named Bob and Bub need to wage war on seemingly innocent bubbles?
Chu Chu Rocket, a Dreamcast game that's available in Japan and about to hit the US, goes beyond puzzle madness into all-out mania. My first hint of Chu Chu came from an online version of a 15-second Japanese television ad (at chu-chu.dricas.ne.jp/image/movie/Chu2CM_s.mpg). It shows crudely drawn mice scurrying across the screen, running for their lives. ("Let's save the Mice!") A cat with concentric circles for eyes springs out and swallows them whole, blood spurting from its mouth. ("The Cat is scary!") A rocket ship full of mice blasts off. ("The Rocket is awesome!")
Despite a minor language barrier, I found the Japanese version of Chu Chu to be great fun. As one of the first Dreamcast games to allow for multiplayer action online, Chu Chu Rocket uses the Dreamcast Network and the console's built-in modem to let up to four players chat and compete online, ganging up as teams or facing off in a free-for-all. The object is to get as many mice as possible into your rocket before the cat devours them. You place arrows on the game board, direct madly scurrying mice to your team's rocket ship, and avoid marauding cats. Few things have been so clear.
When time's up, the player with the most mice wins, and their rocket blasts toward the stars. Like Sega's Bass Fishing, which has its own fishing-rod controller, Chu Chu Rocket can be purchased from Japan with an optional translucent orange gamepad. Either way, taking off will make you quote from Chu Chu's commercial: Tsubababa! ("I am so high!")
Chu Chu Rocket: $29.95 (without controller). Sega of America: www.dreamcast.com.
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