When I initially flipped over the package and spied that Traveler’s Tales developed the game, I groaned. Loud. The list of sins done to humanity by that development studio is long and distinguished. They butchered Sonic 3D Blast for the Saturn and Genesis (yeah, a game where Sonic doesn’t run — good thinking, brainiac), A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and a miserable port of Toy Story 2 for the Dreamcast. Ugh. Why does Activision continue to hire these guys to ruin wonderful (and wonderfully expensive) licenses?
Traveler’s Tales redeems itself — albeit slightly — with Buzz Lightyear. The design is actually kinda clever, sort of a sci–fi take on Crash Bandicoot with its pathed 3D levels. The idea is that Buzz must chase a nefarious space criminal across the level to a getaway zone where the baddie can make his/her escape. Once the criminal hits the end zone, a 15 second timer starts. If Buzz fails to make it to the boss encounter before the clock hits zero, game over. It’s a neat way to keep the action going for a nine–year–old that requires a sense of urgency. (Ever watched a little kid play a 3D platformer? They get frustrated really fast with the huge worlds.)
Along the way, Buzz must blast robots and collect space credits. With these credits, he can buy weapon power–ups, such as a three–way blaster and a lightning gun that zaps enemies all over the screen, no matter which direction Buzz is pointed in. He can also buy a hover board and a speeder bike to get through the levels faster — especially helpful when Mr. Most Wanted zooms too far ahead. However, you want to hold on to some of your earnings, as you earn medals based on certain conditions, such as how many credits you finish the level with. These medals allow you to access later missions.
While the action itself gets slightly repetitious, at least the scenery is nice. The game really does look like the cartoon come alive, with bright and colorful flora and fauna on planets recognizable from the hit show. Everything is polygonal, but Buzz gets the special cel–shading treatment which makes him stand out from the action — a good decision as things get frantic from time to time and it makes him look like he just jumped from the cartoon into the game. I wish the rest of the game used the cel–shading routine, though, as it’s a most effective art technique for creating cartoon–style games.
The game includes plenty of goodies from the series, such as cut scene directly from the show between rounds. However, I must point out that when you boot the game up, you have to watch a two–minute intro. You cannot skip past this element. First time, neat. Second time, okay. Third time...!
With the exception of Tim Allen, all of the voices from the cartoon are present. While Buzz Lightyear is a great package for kids (my nine–year–old nephew loves it), it really won’t appeal to older gamers, even those who enjoy the license. The game’s mechanics are just too elementary for any gamer older than 13, and even that might be too old for this decidedly kiddie fare.
However, Activision shouldn’t be penalized for making a good kids game — most companies that try to attract all gamers end up diluting the final product so much so that the title fails to connect with ANY audience. Perhaps it’s time that developers decide they want to entertain one slice of the gaming public, and then do so.
"Certainly you should pay attention to the target audience for games before your purchaes them — this offering from Activision is definitely a product that would be well–received by nine–year–olds."
