Toy Story 3: The Video Game [Review]

FULL REVIEW

Disney Interactive has released a game based on the recently released animated film, Toy Story 3. Developed by Avalanche Studio, the game is based around the locations and adventures featured in the movie, and then some. 

Games based on movies have a dubious and deserved reputation of being little more than a marketing tool for film’s promotion. Fortunately, Toy Story 3 is an exception to this trend and it is quite evident from the final result that the developer’s have put in an effort to create a game that is capable of holding its own. 

Boys with toys

The Story Mode of this game apparently follows the storyline of the movie and it spans across eight to ten levels. This mode features Sheriff, Lightyear and Jessie as playable characters through the various levels. In this mode, the game level design is typical of a platformer where the players need to negotiate traps and falls, and occasionally face-off against enemies. Each character has a unique ability which the player often needs to exploit in order to complete objectives and beat the level. Sheriff is all about his lasso which he can use to get to hard to reach places and access switches and buttons. Jessie pretty much serves the same purpose and she uses her particularly small body frame, uncanny agility and balance to complete her feats. Buzz Lightyear is a flying, killing-machine owing to his jetpack and lasers. He can also use his incredible strength to fling the other two characters towards higher ground. Not all levels are team-based and there are quite a few solo-missions; most of which feature Buzz and a whole lot of enemies. With about ten levels it wasn’t particularly challenging; however, it’s worth mentioning that this mode keeps things fresh and interesting right till the end. 

Toy Box is the sandbox mode of Toy Story 3 that can be played independently of the Story Mode. This free-roaming mode has mini-games, quests, locked areas and secrets strewn across the map. The look of the buildings and that of its inhabitants is customizable. Talking to certain characters may a triggers quest and its completion comes with a variety of rewards. Some activities in the mode requires the player to spend gold, which is thankfully always in abundant supply. 

Toys R They

The game is all very simple and straightforward—and it is understandable considering the apparent audience for the game. Although the game did not give a deep sense of satisfaction, it did not bore be either. Considering the fact that I do not care much about the original storyline or its characters; I still found the game quite playable. There is decent amount of content on the disc; however, the price of Rs.699 still seems a bit high. The game’s story mode has about six to seven hours of game-play and the amount of fun one can squeeze out of the Toybox Mode depends on how much you appreciate open-world system.

The game should sit well with those who are in their early teens or younger. It’s hard to imagine anyone older than that to really enjoy it as much. This one is worth considering as a gift during the upcoming onslaught of holidays. And we hope that by that time the game’s price-tag will lose a couple of hundred rupees and hit that sweet spot of rupees 499.

Rating: 7.0/10 

Details 

Genre: Platforming, Action Adventure

Studio: Avalanche Software

Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios

Platforms:   PlayStation 3, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360

*Reviewed on PC (MS Windows)

Release Date: June 16, 2010 (EU)

System Requirements

Minimum Windows System Requirements for PC Game – Toy Story 3

* OS: Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7

* CPU:Intel Pentium IV at 2.4 GHz / AMD 3000+

* RAM: 1 GB

* HDD: 6 GB free disk space

* Graphics: 128 MB Graphics Memory with shader model 2

* Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible

* DirectX: Version 9.0c

Supported Graphics Cards:

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 / ATI Radeon 9600

Minimum MAC System Requirements 

* OS: Macintosh System 10.5.8 Leopard

* CPU: Intel Core Duo processor

* RAM: 1 GB

* HDD: 6 GB free disk space

* Graphics: 512 MB Graphics Memory

* Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compatible

* DirectX: Version 9.0c

Supported Graphics Cards:

ATI X1600 / NVIDIA 7300 GT / X3100 Intel 

**Notes: Intel GMA950 not supported. This game will not run on PowerPC-based (G3/G4/G5) Mac systems (PowerMac)