Toy Story

"I can think of a ton of reasons to play this game, and none of them actually have to do with the movie, Toy Story..."

As far as Genesis games go, I consider this to be a work of perfection. For anyone who has seen the Toy Story movie, and liked it, then you will absolutely LOVE this game. If you're not a fan, or haven't seen the movie (which is pretty nigh impossible), you will still love this game for it's great gameplay and graphics.

To start off, you play as Woody, the old-fashioned cowboy doll, with your pull-string as a weapon. You can lasso, so to speak, obstacles in your way. For example, wooden trains that go across the floor of Andy's room can be lassoed, so that you can walk right past them. Woody also has a standard jump...and that's about it. It's simplistic, but it works incredibly well.

Each level is entirely different from any other in the game -- I don't think I've ever played a game that gave me a sampling of so many different gameplay mechanics -- one level has you controlling an RC car, another has you using a pump to get the toys back into the toy chest, yet another has you disguised as a piece of food in a restaurant, and, one of my personal favorite levels, has a first-person perspective ala Doom in which you have to find the squeaky alien toys and bring them ''home''. Trust me when I say that you will never be dissapointed with what you can do in this game -- it's absolutely spectacular.

The graphics for this game are possibly some of the best on the Genesis system EVER, and I like to think that that is saying quite a bit. Buzz tends to get the 3-Dish treatment more than Woody, and the ''restaurant'' level is full of graphical treats. I guess you really have to have an appreciation for 16-bit games and the Genesis to appreciate these graphics, but, in my opinion, they rival early Playstation graphics. The sound for this game is also quite good -- there's lots of fitting little ditties -- including some from the movie -- that help foster the care-free atmosphere of the game. The songs WILL stick with you, but, in this case, that isn't such a bad thing.

It's really hard to complain about this game...you get rewarded for how fast you do some levels and for how many stars you pick up (therefore giving it some replay, to see if you can do better next time), the controls and graphics are sharp, the gameplay as a whole is utterly original, and, for fans of the movie, you'll be extremely excited to see appearances from almost everyone else in the cast (even Mr. Potato Head).

I guess my only complaint about this game is the absence of difficulty levels. The game also makes it hard for you to earn continues...and that's about it. No more complaints from me. This game is perfection.

So, if you've got a hankering for a game that hasn't been hyped up by everyone that plays the Genesis (Sonic, Gunstar Heroes,etc), then give this game a try...I can practically guarantee you that your friends will have never played it before, but they'll be happy that you introduced them to its charms. Toy Story is a classic.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/04