Ultizen Games of Shanghai is presenting the first Xbox Live game ever made in China, Crazy Mouse. Enter irony here: Chinese gamers cannot play it, as the Xbox 360 is not sold in China. I guess they'll have to go back to killing themselves playing MMOs or something.
The game comes out this week for XBLA and puts you in the role of a gastronomist mouse navigating a 2D maze gobbling food and trying to meet the legendary gourmet. So basically, you're Remy from Ratatouille. There's are two modes for single player and a multiplayer that allows up to three people to participate at a time.
It's the year of the mouse on the Chinese calendar, so perhaps that will bring good luck to the release. I can't help but find it curious and kind of sad that Chinese gamers can't play a game that came from their own country, but can play Maple Story until they drop dead. I sense misplaced priorities.
Ultizen Games Announces Release of Crazy Mouse Xbox LIVE Arcade Game
- Game is first XBLA title developed by a China-based studio-
SHANGHAI, China and LOS ANGELES, Calif. -October 14, 2008- Ultizen Games Ltd., a game development and outsourcing company, announced today that its Xbox LIVE® Arcade (XBLA) title, Crazy Mouse, will be released tomorrow, October 15, 2008. The first XBLA game developed by a China-based game studio, the Crazy Mouse release will take place during the Chinese “Year of the Mouse.”
In this 32-level game, the player guides a mouse-a gastronomist (a connoisseur of fine food) -through a vibrantly-colored maze, attempting to grab and eat food, run, dodge and score, depending on the level. On a trip seeking the legendary gourmet, the player meets many challenges and battles against his opponents until he finally enters the place where the gourmet is found. To win the game, the player must overcome the gourmet’s guards to find out who the gourmet is.
Single players can play in two modes, each offering a fun, goal-oriented experience. In Story Mode, the player is placed in sequential puzzles to try and earn more points than an opponent, earning a score and rank on each puzzle. In Battle Mode, the player competes against a number of mice to see who can score the most points in the shortest amount of time.
Crazy Mouse can also be played in Multiplayer mode for ultimate party fun. Play with three friends locally or over Xbox LIVE, competing in the same maze for the highest score. Players can work in collaboration or competition, enjoying all the fun, challenges and excitement of a multiplayer game.
“We are thrilled about the launch of Crazy Mouse, the first Xbox LIVE Arcade title developed at the Chengdu Incubation Center,” said Andrew Flavell, general manager of Microsoft Game Studio Asia. “Microsoft takes great pride in working with and supporting the local software industry and the success of Crazy Mouse further demonstrates how working together can deliver amazing wins for Microsoft, Ultizen and China’s games software ecosystem.”
“Ultizen Games is extremely proud to release this game to the Xbox LIVE community of gamers,” said Lan Haiwen, CEO, Ultizen Games. “Being the first China-based gaming company to develop an Xbox LIVE Arcade game is a tremendous accomplishment for our company as well as the gaming development industry in China.”
Crazy Mouse is one of the first projects incubated in the Chengdu Incubation Center (CDIC). The CDIC was established in September 2006 as a strategic initiative between Microsoft and the Sichuan Culture Bureau, the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone and Sichuan Huachuang Tianfu company to incubate game development projects for the Xbox platform.
Dou Weiping, Deputy Director General of the Sichuan Culture Bureau said, “I am very proud of Crazy Mouse, the first IPed Xbox LIVE game ‘born’ in Chengdu. We hope that this milestone success of CDIC will attract more game development companies and talent to come to CDIC, working together to build Chengdu into a regional hub of digital entertainment.”
Crazy Mouse comes with 12 achievements-including Ultimate Gastronomist, Chomp Champion, Chubby Mouse and World Food Party!-which allow players to earn a total of 200 Gamerscore points. Achievements range from easy to extremely challenging, offering fun for players of all levels. With easy-to-use controls and a vivid and appealing graphic style, Crazy Mouse from Ultizen is the ultimate Xbox Live Arcade game choice for fun with family and friends.
Crazy Mouse will be launched worldwide wherever Xbox LIVE is available, and has been localized into the English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese languages. Regions for which the native language is not available will default to English. Once available, more information on Crazy Mouse can be found at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/livearcadexbox360/ in the US and www.xbox.com in other locations where Crazy Mouse is available.
About Ultizen Games
Ultizen Games Ltd. is a Shanghai-based game developer and game development outsourcer for North American, European and Japanese companies, and the creator of the U-Pal casual game platform for the Chinese market. The company was founded in 2005 by a group of industry experts from Ubi Soft China, Shanda and The 9. Ultizen Games’ 350-person studio provides game development services including game design, porting, programming and art. The company maintains studios in Shanghai and Beijing, China and opened an office in Los Angeles in the fall of 2007. For more information, please visit www.ultizen.com.
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12:44 PM on 10.14.2008
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We need ChuChu Rocket on XBLA!
This was one of the only XBLA games I was really looking forward to. It's official there is no god.
That's funny, just like I can't download a new cd because it's illegal, right?
China is the bootleg/knockoff capital of the Universe.I've lived there for the last 16 months. Xbox 360's are everywhere, so are games and accessories. Until my console was banned, I was on live and downloading demos and XBLA titles all I wanted. You wont see Live report any consoles from China, but that's because it's not a location option when setting up your Live account....I think I selected Singapore or Taiwan or Korea for my location.
The Chinese often get games before the States. (As soon as it's leaked online, it's factory printed and sold for 80 cents in China.)