ne thing that human types tend to take for granted is that the world can be a very dangerous place for a toy. Every crack in the pavement is a canyon. Every parked sedan is a mountain. And elevator shafts? Well, they're just too scary to even talk about. So what's a toy to do when its best friend and fellow plaything has been abducted by a greedy toy collector and is being held hostage in a penthouse across town? Polish up his space helmet, put in some fresh batteries and get to work, that's what.
Activision's Toy Story 2 is a third-person action game that places players in the tiny but tireless boots of Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear in a race against time to save his toynapped pal, Woody the Cowboy. As Buzz, players run, jump and climb through all sorts of perilous environments, from back alleys to toy stores to an airport runway. Even a seemingly benign suburban backyard is full of pitfalls and foes. The settings are closely based on the Disney/Pixar film, and are broken down into fifteen levels. New levels are unlocked by collecting Pizza Planet tokens, which can be obtained by solving puzzles, gathering coins, winning races and defeating bosses. Once all of the tasks on a level are completed, players are rewarded by a cutscene taken straight from the movie, which keeps the story chugging along.
Apart from his wits (and years of Space Ranger training, of course), Buzz's primary weapon is his built-in laser. He also has some pretty slick moves, including a super stomp and rapid torso spin that can be used offensively or to deflect attacks. But sometimes Buzz's best is just not enough to get the job done. Luckily, he is not alone on his mission of mercy. Slinky Dog, Rex the Dinosaur, Mr. Potato Head and many other characters from the Toy Story movies make appearances to lend a Buzz a hand. They often point Buzz toward ways of earning tokens, but sometimes they can help him acquire weapon upgrades, grappling hooks, rocket boots and other gadgets to help him out of some of the game's many tight spots.
Like watching the movie...
except your thumbs hurt
One thing's for sure: this game has monumental proportions…literally. Everything is just plain huge! The world is very different when viewed from an action figure's perspective, and the makers of Toy Story 2 have done a terrific job designing intricate, colorful levels that make the most of that difference. Even when puzzle solving and coin collecting gets a bit old, being a toy-sized hero in a person-sized world never ceases to be a hoot. The way the levels are organized also helps to keep things fresh. Players don't have to complete an entire level in order to unlock new ones. In fact, there are certain tasks on some levels that cannot be completed until Buzz gets some equipment from later levels. This prevents the game from being too linear and, more importantly, keeps players from feeling frustrated when they get stuck.
Unfortunately, there are other sources of frustration. The biggest is how the game's save function works...or, more accurately, how it doesn't. Even though the levels that have been unlocked save nicely onto the memory card, tasks completed on an unfinished level do not. In other words, saving the game when not all of the objectives on a level are complete forces the player to play that level all over again, driving players to insanity...and beyond! Another of the game's vexing problems is the camera work. Buzz's chase camera often lags behind or spins around unpredictably, making the poor Space Ranger tough to control at times.
Games based on hit movies are frequently a bit disappointing. Playing them often feels like playing just another old game that's been stapled to a franchise and whisked off to the stores in time for opening night at the multiplex. Toy Story 2 is not one of those jalopies. While there is nothing all that original about the gameplay itself (run around, pick up coins, shoot bad guys...sound familiar?), the characters and settings of the Toy Story movies are so clever, fun and well translated into game format that it is easy to overlook the title's shortcomings.
