Rocket: Robot on Wheels is a 1999 platform game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo 64. In it, the player controls Rocket, the titular robot. Rocket: Robot on Wheels was the first game on a home console to use a realistic physics engine to drive the gameplay. The player can solve puzzles dealing with mass, inertia, friction, and other physical properties.
Gameplay
The game has seven themed worlds, including a central hub world through which the other six are accessed. During gameplay, the player collects tickets by completing objectives, such as assisting non-player characters, completing minigames, or collecting all the tokens in a world. Each world has at least one vehicle that is used for solving puzzles and getting tickets; for example, the first world has a hot-dog-shaped car. Ironically they pitched the game to Sony Computer Entertainment, who was impressed with it, but they stipulated the game still be released on N64 and later ported to the PlayStation. Nervous about both the concept not being mascot-centric and a potential game being on their biggest competitor's system, Sony declined. They also pitched to Electronic Arts and were on the cusp of breaking a deal, but it would require the game be cancelled and Sucker Punch start anew on a PlayStation 2 title. The team got cold feet about putting a game on the cutting board, so they continued to pitch it.
The game had initially been developed under the title Sprocket until three months before its release, when it was changed due to a trademark conflict with Game Sprockets.
Reception
The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. However, Boba Fatt said in another review that the game's interface "is far more challenging than its puzzles or obstacles, making Rocket just one long, unrewarding exercise in tedium."
The game was listed as the "18th Best Nintendo 64 Game of All Time" in Nintendo Powers 20th anniversary issue.