Pixar Perfect?- Toy Story 3 Review

Beyond critical and commercial success, one of Pixar’s greatest triumphs is the ability to make films with cross-generational appeal. While adults and children may enjoy The Incredibles, Up, or the Toy Story series for entirely different reasons, both groups are unified by the studio’s masterful direction. Such a phenomenon rarely happens in gaming, where the ability level and tastes of each audience are widely divergent.

Deftly, the recently released Toy Story 3 is the extraordinary gem that can keep gamers of all ages enthralled.  By adding a engaging sandbox mode to complement a series of straightforward (and slightly more challenging) stages, the title has the capacity to entertain a wide range of players.  Designers of family friendly software should take a thorough gaze into Avalanche Software design decisions; here’s a game that skillfully captures the feel of its source material.

Mirroring the film’s introduction, Toy Story 3 opens with Woody saving a train full of orphans from imminent disaster. Clearly inspired by the platforming elements of Crash Bandicoot, our hero is tasked with navigating a collapsing canyon before taking on a pack of squeeze-toy aliens and the nefarious Hamm. Later levels recall console classic, The Lost Vikings, as players direct a team of toys who must work cooperatively to achieve their goals. Other levels send the always valiant Buzz Lightyear on a mission to defeat Zerg, or offer a segment similar to Ratchet and Clank’s spirited rail races. Cleverly, the game’s offers (but never forces) variable levels of assistance to players. Gamers can either receive a hint or see the solution for the title’s trickier obstacles.
 
To complement the game’s story mode, Toy Story 3 also offers the aforementioned sandbox mode. The beauty of this diversion is its scalability. Younger  games will be captivated  by the level of interactivity- every building and person can be easily customized, while an endless supply of crates conceals in-game currency. Advanced gamers have the option to take on quests, such as rounding up drifting cows, or guiding paratroopers onto landing pads. Regardless of the challenge level of each task, players are constantly rewarded with new costumes, paint jobs, or tools. Shrewdly, there’s a two player mode, where players can work separately, or an advanced participant can lend assistance to another. I found myself having a difficult time pulling away from this section of the game; with so many tasks, collectibles, and items to play with, the mode feels wonderfully boundless.

Toy Story 3′s flaws are astoundingly few. With eight missions, some might bemoan the brevity of the main campaign. Yet each of the stages are polished enough to warrant a second play-through, at least to obtain each level’s numerous collectables. Although many of the film’s actors recorded voice-over for the game, the substitutes for Tom Hanks and Tim Allen lack a bit of charm. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms do their best to maintain a steady refresh rate in the story mode, framerates can falter when playing the title co-operative component.

Despite these graphical hiccups, Toy Story 3‘s graphic are otherwise superbly lush. The game is filled with vibrant colors, and detailed environments that capably capture the look of the films. Short animations from Woody’s spirited dance to Buzz activating his visor, are undeniably delightful. The inclusion of Randy Newman’s music is icing on the already delectable cake.

Ignore any suspicions you may hold against licensed games- Toy Story 3 is the exceptional title which faithfully recreates the feel of the film. More importantly, it’s one of the scant family titles which can maintain the attention of children and adults alike. With a game as solid as this, Disney is on track to duplicate their cinematic success in another medium.