Archive for September, 2010
Toy Story 3: The Videogame
Posted by Ian | Filed under Portfolio, Review
Movie to videogame adaptations are simply one of the worst things to happen to
videogames, since Hollywood thought it would be a great idea to make movies from
videogames. It seems that whenever these two entertainment juggernauts come together,
or in a more real world term think that they can con some poor parent out of cash, as
their kids loved the film, nothing good can or has ever come of it. There is dozens of failed
movie to videogame adaptations on the market from the past few years, Hulk, Iron Man,
The Golden Compass, Cars and arguably some of the Harry Potter games. Therefore, the
expectation for Toy Story 3: The Videogame is low, very, very low, which happens to be the
polar opposite to that of the film.
More often that not, it’s easy to jump straight into playing the actual game itself and ignore
the other details. After all, these menu screens and everything else are simply a distraction
from what actually needs to be done – game playing. However, with Toy Story 3: The
Videogame on the Xbox 360, the title screen to the game will immediately pull the player
away from the real world and teleport them back about a decade with the familiar music
of “You’ve Got a Friend in me”, and make us all weep about our long-gone childhood. This
instantly recognisable music makes the player feel much more at home and although this is
a deceiving tactic, it works well for this game.
The menu screens are a breeze and it doesn’t take long before the player is able to select
the type of play they want. There are two main modes of play, Story Mode, which takes
the player through 8 levels. Each is expansive and is themed around the Toy Story 3 movie;
however, it does not follow the same storyline as the film. The majority of these worlds are
in a third person format and require the player to run around the world and collect different
items, hit certain types of switches and just generally achieve what the story’s goals are set
out to be. It’s standard gaming fare, with third party play interjected with the odd “on-the-
rails” shooter action. This occasional switch is welcome as it changes the pace of Toy Story
3: The Videogame and although the gameplay isn’t dull, it is always good to see a different
element introduced in games. The Story Mode is well thought out, with overarching plots
that move between the worlds; however, sometimes they do feel a little stretched and
some of the sidequests along the way are a bit stale and linear. Yet for the most part the
Story Mode is well considered and actually a little challenging; it is not a walk through the
park for a seasoned gamer.
The other mode available in Toy Story 3: The Videogame is ToyBox Mode, which is in its
most basic form is a free roaming game. The player is Woody, who is in control of his own
little western style town and he has the ability to go wherever he wants and do whatever he
likes. There are missions assigned to the player by random characters in the game and you
can either fulfil or ignore them. The ability to build in the town is available and the entire
game is entirely customisable. It’s a very unique experience from a movie to videogame and
it’s a welcome one.
Not to say that it is perfect, there are a few niggles with the display of the world and more
importantly the controls are fairly, especially for a child’s game. The movement around
the worlds isn’t flawless either, there’s a bit of lag or the controls simply aren’t as finely
tuned as one would like. Yet, these niggles can be put aside due to the sheer beauty of the
game. It’s been polished incredibly well and the developers at Avalanche Software and
Disney Interactive Studios have really put their all into the presentation of Toy Story 3: The
Videogame. With well-designed characters, that are bright and distinct against a variety of
equally well made levels. Not only that but they move fluidly, there’s no jerky Tomb Raider
on the PlayStation style movement, it’s smooth and a pleasure to view. It could easily be
mistaken for the film in 2D. They have also managed to secure the majority of the original
cast for the films for the voice acting work on the game, which makes a whole world of
difference.
Verdict:
8/10
Toy Story 3: The Videogame is one of the best movie to videogame adaptations ever. With a
well thought out plot, a gameplay that is well developed and a style that mirrors the movie
without copying it. It is certainly not perfect, but it’s the closest a movie to videogame
adaptation has been in a long, long time.