Categories #Games, News

See Sonic Racing and Chu Chu Rocket! Universe in Action Here!

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Author Nuckles87

So, with Apple Arcade launching today, we’re finally getting our first in-depth looks at both Sonic Racing and Chu Chu Rocket! Universe. With no official footage being released, we decided to record our own footage of these games.

It should be noted that both of these games are being recorded off of an iPhone 7, which could only achieve medium graphical quality for either game. This footage is not representative of how the games will look on more advanced hardware.

For Sonic Racing, I recorded the tutorial and a few races in the default vertical orientation, before later recording some footage horizontally. Check them out below:

I actually found it more difficult to play this game with the landscape orientation. Here’s hoping the Apple TV version has controller support:

For Chu Chu Rocket! Universe, I recorded the opening minutes of the game, including some bits of story mode, then recorded another puzzle separately to show off how arrows are selected (and because it was the first puzzle I had some trouble with).

You’ll find those recordings below:

Be sure to stick around for more news on these and other games!

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Categories #Games, News

Sonic Racing & Chu Chu Rocket! Universe Launch Today as Part of Apple Arcade (UPDATED)

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Author Nuckles87

Two Sonic Team franchises have launched new entries today as part of Apple Arcade’s launch line-up. Sonic Racing brings a version of Sumo Digital’s Team Sonic Racing to Apple’s platforms, letting players race as a variety of Sonic characters in a team-based racer. Chu Chu Rocket! Universe brings back the classic puzzle action of the Dreamcast original, where the player has to direct mice through a course to their rocket ship, without letting the cats eat them. Both games were made by SEGA HARDlight, the same developers behind the Sonic Dash games.

Apple Arcade is a subscription-based game service for Apple platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Macintosh. For $5 a month, you gain access to every game on the service, without needing to deal with ads, in-app purchases, or other kinds of micro transactions. Every game on the service is exclusive to it, so it’s unlikely these games will be appearing on other platforms (or at least mobile platforms) any time soon.

If you want to try the games now, you can take advantage of a 30-day free trial after downloading iOS 13 for iPhone. Unfortunately, only iPhone users can currently access Apple Arcade, as the updates for Apple’s other platforms are arriving until September 30.

UPDATE: We have been able to confirm that both games boast controller support, including support for PS4 and Xbox One controllers. To sync a PS4 controller, hold the share and home buttons to put it into pairing mode. For Xbox One, hold the sync button. Afterwards, each controller can be linked to your iPhone from the phone’s Bluetooth menu.

SEGA has also released a trailer showing off both games, which you can check out below:

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Categories News

Chu Chu Rocket! Universe coming to Apple Arcade

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Author Nuckles87
2 Comments

A new entry in Sonic Team’s long-dead Chu Chu Rocket franchise made a surprise appearance in an Apple press release today: Chu Chu Rocket! Universe.

The game is being developed by Hardlight, and is slated to come to the Apple Arcade service, a video game subscription service for Apple Devices that will let subscribers play a variety of games for $4.99 a month on iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and Macs. It’s important to note that Apple’s press release specifies that it is a “mobile and subscription service” exclusive which doesn’t necessarily rule out console ports of the game, although devices that support Apple Arcade are the only confirmed platforms.

The game has 100 3D puzzle courses, and features gameplay that appears pretty faithful to the Dreamcast original: direct your mice to rocket ships without letting cats devouring them all. Chu Chu Rocket! Universe is slated to launch alongside the debut of the Apple Arcade service on September 19. Chu Chu Rocket! won’t be the only Sonic Team series hitting the service either: as we reported earlier this year, Sonic Racing will also be coming to Apple Arcade.

The Dreamcast original was the first game on the system to feature online play, so a sequel being announced a day after the system’s 20th anniversary is neat timing. This will be the first new entry in the franchise since the Dreamcast game was ported to iOS and Android back in 2011.

Nothing else is known about the game. Check below for a screenshot and game play footage:

 

 

The Sonic Stadium may link to retailers and earn a small commission on purchases made from users who click those links. These links will only appear in articles related to the product, in an unobtrusive manner, and do not influence our editorial decisions in any way.