Sneakers (2002 video game)

The game was developed as one of two Japan-exclusive launch titles for the Xbox, and was later released in North America in an exclusive distribution with Toys R Us retail stores.Navigation is assisted by the game's stage map, which allows players to identify visited and unvisited areas and the location and number of enemy squads.Apollo and his friends, Bonnie, Brutus, Watt, Pete and Tiki are planning a celebration alongside the humans living in the house, who are having a party in a local park.Aided by his friends, the player's goal is to find and eliminate the squads rats across five levels, spanning a house, alley, park, cellar and bridge, and rescue the missing mice.[2] The developers originally conceived the game to depict a cartoon or picture book theme, but pursued experimentation with a realistic visual style after attending a demonstration of 'fur shading' techniques at SIGGRAPH,[3] and intended to showcase the graphical capabilities of the Xbox."[9] In a more positive preview, GameSpot praised the title as a "nice-looking game" due to its fur rendering system and "exquisite" environmental textures, although hoped future development would "transcend the limitations placed on it by the lack of wholly free movement".[18] Xbox Nation wrote "the specific challenges...are easy enough to accomplish; individual rats can be targeted and dispatched simply by shifting to a first-person view, putting a cursor over the foe and pressing a button".[21] Edge noted the game contained "no freedom", writing that whilst "junctions afford a choice of route...the implied non-linearity is utterly superficial" due to the requirement to explore all areas.