Tom and Jerry

"At least it's not any worse than it already is."

Introduction

When I was younger, I used to laugh and have a good time watching Tom And Jerry on television. So, when I heard of a Tom and Jerry game, I thought I'd check it out just for fun.

Needless to say, that was a huge mistake . . .

Graphics

The graphics in Tom and Jerry are, to say the least, nothing spectacular. For a game from 1992, however, I will give it partial credit.

The backgrounds are, to say the least, very monotonous and boring. On the other hand, Tom and Jerry is also a very colorful game, which could be either a blessing or a curse depending on how you view it. I'd like to think of it as a rather minor blessing.

Final score: 4/10 There's really nothing worth looking at in Tom and Jerry.

Story

There is no real story to speak of, here. You basically play as Jerry, the mouse, who's job is to get through the stage without Tom, the cat, eating him. There seems to be no point to this at all. At the end of most stages, you fight Tom. He gets beaten, and we're all happy, right? Well, quite frankly, I've always wanted to see Jerry writhe with pain as he is chewed on by Tom. Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happens throughout the entire game, even if you lose.

Final score: 2/10 Because at least they tried.

Gameplay

As has already been said, you play as Jerry, who simply runs around until he hits the end of the stage and fights Tom. This is really all the game consists of.

Along the way you pick up peas that you can throw at your enemies and tiny bits of cheese, which do nothing but increase your score. Which, in turn, does very little to nothing, from what I can tell. How exciting! It would be nice to think that somehow the gameplay were more complex, but to my dismay, it is not. Actually, I think I'd rather watch paint dry on a hot day.

Final score: 3/10 because throwing peas is fun. On the other hand, it's about as exciting as watching Madeline Albright run a marathon.

Controls

I've no real complaints here. Everything is in it's proper place, there are no buttons that are placed in an odd position.

Final Score: 9/10

Sound Effects/Music

When you're actually playing through the game, there is very little music. What is there, however, is neither catchy nor appealing.

My ears! They bleed! That's all I could think of when I was playing the game. Why? Because after hearing the stupid, annoying sound effects over and over again, I thought that my ears might just dislodge themselves from my head and run into the other room. Every time Jerry jumps, you hear the most absolutely atrocious sound ever. It's enough to make me cry sometimes, honestly. There is definitely no excuse for the horrible sound effects.

Final score: 1/10 Absolutely abysmal.

Fun Factor

Tom and Jerry might be fun if you're under 8 years old. Otherwise, it's about as fun to play as it is to have Ebola. Stay way.

Conclusion

Sure, it may have seemed like a good idea on the surface, but upon breaking the shell of this egg, you'll find the yolk to be an oozing pile of repetitive gameplay, horrible sound effects, and all-around crap.

You've been warned . . .

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 02/02/04