Toy Story

"A beautiful Genesis Classic..."

Toy Story the movie was by all standards a blockbuster. Sure it was a kids movie but even adults were drawn into it by its brilliant computer generated graphics. It also had some backing up because of Tim Allen and Tom Hanks doing the voices for the 2 main characters. It was basically a movie about toys coming alive when humans aint about and having fun that only toys can have. Anyways, as big business goes the videogame was developed around about 95-96. Surprisingly its a good game unlike many movie too game port overs. You would think it was aimed at really young kids but i'm 14 and i can get some enjoyment out of it and i normally like things like Street Fighter or Final fantasy. The game has the same plot as the movie but that isnt exactly surprising.

Graphics
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First thing is first. The graphics are were ground breaking for Genesis games at the time. They were nice and clear, high resolution and very deatiled. Even though its a sprite game you could probably be fooled into thinking it was made from polygons. When i played it on my Mega Drive about 5 years ago i can remember it being unbaleiavable realistic. Recently i played it on a computer though (courtesy of emulation) and was surprised to see that the graphics looked as blocky as hell and just completley out of date. It shows how much technology has advanced in those few short years. As far as the backgrounds go they are not only as good looking as the foregrounds but they are also interactive. For example you can jump on the wooden drawers. If you dont get what i mean i forgot to mention that you control the 6 inch star of the movie called Woody. Your weapon is a pull string on your back that gets flung fowards. Hows that for originality. The different graphics for the different styles of game are very varied as well. For example there even some semi-3d driving sections that would be surprising on their own but thrown in with a platformer just adds to the greatness. Although i wont spoil it, the last level is also very good in the graphics deparment as well.

Sound
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Now here something surprising. Toy Story was probably the first Genesis game i encountered that actually had recognizable speech in it. From Buzz's infamous phrase ''to infinity, and behond'' at the title screen to the numerous other outtakes from the movies littered throughout the game. The music itself is also very good although im not sure that it has any connection to the movie.

Gameplay
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Behind Toy Story's Beautiful graphics is a simple game as far as gameplay goes. Its basically a platformer mixed with a racer mixed with a ''flight simulator'' youll see what i mean when you reach the last level. In the first level for example you have to get the lid off a box of army men, then you have to get to a radio receiver. On the second level you have to make all of Andy's toys get into their respective boxes before he gets up the stairs. Later there are top down racing levels and a semi 3d one. This really adds to the game stopping you from getting bored of doing the same thing. Every 4 levels or so there is a boss. Examples include a evil buzz lightyear in your dreams and a robotic claw inside the alien machine from the movie. Weird huh.

Overall
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The one problem is that even when i first played this when i was 9 i managed to finish it in 3 days. The only game that i have finished quicker than that is Metal Gear Solid. Still if your area still allows you to rent Genesis games then get this for 3 nights and have a good time and if you have some young gamers show them what gaming was like back before Sony invented the casual gamer.

Graphics - Good for their time but outdated now...9/10
Sound - Very well done here especially the inclusion of speech...9/10
Gameplay - The platform levels can get a bit boring after a while but the racing games add to the games playability...8/10
Overall...8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/00, Updated 11/16/00