Looney Toons: Back in Action
Score: 87% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Games Developer: Warthog Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Platformer
Graphics & Sound: Those wacky Looney Toons from Warner Bros. are heading into another movie, and with it, another game. Looney Toons: Back in Action gives you control of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as you travel around the world in search of the great Blue Monkey Diamond. My first thought when seeing the graphics of Back in Action was that it looked only slightly better than that of the PSOne, but after a while the level of detail present in the game began to come out and I started to realize that the graphics are more complete and better than I originally saw. The cinematics are a mix of in-game and fully CG movies, and the only time the character models appear to have too few polygons was during the in-game cut scenes. Besides that, the camera is positioned just far enough away to give the appearance of nice and smooth character model. As far as the pre-rendered movies are concerned, those were outstanding. The level of detail and effort (not to mention time) put into these movies is impressive on its own. The music of the game has a very lighthearted and happy-go-lucky feel to it. But the best part of the music is that they are still tailored to the location. The voices used are straight from the cartoons and give the game a great feel. The game does have a flaw in the sound department. The characters tend to talk a little too much, which means they will run through their list of comments rather quickly. Thankfully the number of statements they make isn't as small as other games.
Gameplay: During a pitch by Daffy Duck, it is revealed that the CEO of Warner Bros. studio is actually the owner of ACME Industries in disguise. He reveals himself when Daffy pulls out the legendary Blue Monkey Diamond (which has the ability to turn people into monkeys). The owner of the lemon-making company steals the diamond, but before he has a chance to use it, a monkey takes it from his hands and jumps out the window. Now it is up to Daffy and Bugs to get the diamond back. You will progress through several different locations catching monkeys running amuck as you try to find the one with the diamond. You will go through the studio backlot, Paris, Las Vegas and other locations in search of the giant diamond. Along the way you will use Bugs' double jump and burrowing ability, or Daffy's flying and swimming abilities (not to mention the mallets and frying pans) to get money and Frog sculptures. You can use the money to purchase plane tickets to the other locations and to buy monkeys from that southern fried chicken - Foghorn Leghorn. Looney Toons is the epitome of platformer games. It has everything from moving platforms, to well... more moving platforms. There are several areas that only Bugs can get through, as well as areas that you need to use Daffy. There are even instances where you must get both characters to a certain location and have them stand on top of buttons in order to open a door or trigger some other event. One small problem I have with this game is the fact that none of the pickups (coins, statues) have a shadow. This can make it hard to judge where you need to be to jump and grab these items. If you get tired of traveling around the world and hitting tourists over the heads, then you can try the mini-game offered in the start up menu -- 'Traffic Attack'. In this game you play as Wylie E. Coyote strapped to an ACME rocket as you race down the street after the Road Runner. Sounds easy right? Well it would be if it wasn't for the fact that as the Road Runner speeds down the street, cars and trucks swerve out of the way and into you -- after three hits, it's over. The longer you last, the faster you go and the faster the cars come at you.
Difficulty: Looney Toons: Back in Action is pretty straightforward and doesn't tend to be overly complicated. Because of this, it isn't really difficult but it still has its challenges. Most of the time, you won't have any trouble moving from mission to mission. The major problem typically comes in when you are looking for a certain number of objects (like Daffy Duck wanted signs) and you just can't figure out where that last one is hidden.
Game Mechanics: The controls of Looney Toons: Back in Action are very similar to most platformers on the PS2 with a few exceptions. The main thing is that there are several instances where you have to rapidly press a button (usually the Circle or X). For instance, when a security guard has you in his cartoony clutches, the only way to escape is to press the Circle button repeatedly. This reminded me a whole lot the PlayStation game Incredible Crisis. There were a couple of problems that I found throughout the game -- one of which is the really long load screens, but this is almost forgivable when you consider the large levels that come out of them. The other thing I need to note is the fact that a couple of times, my character was revived outside of the level...that's right, I was looking at it from the outside. I somehow managed to work my way to the inside but the process of walking, or sliding as the case may be, to the other side of the walls was a long and difficult one. If you are a platformer gamer, then Back in Action is a game you don't want to miss. If not, then it is still a fun game and is worth a rent.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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