TGS '07: Toy Home Hands-On

What is it about toy cars racing around life-size environments that developers and gamers can't get enough of? There's got to be something to it because another title with those very components is in the works and headed to the PlayStation Store. It's called Toy Home and it was playable at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

We started our demo by picking our car. It's safe to assume there will be plenty of vehicles to choose from in the final version, but there were only two to choose from here. We passed on the Mini Cooper-type ride and went with a hot rod--mostly because it had cool flames on the sides. Then it was off to a kitchen table, also known as the first course.

The object of the game is to collect as many tokens as possible before the timer runs out. Tokens are laid out in such a way that you can follow them around the entire level like a track, but you're free to go in whatever direction you choose and pick them up in whatever order you like. You'll earn points for collecting tokens, driving with style, and even for smashing into obstacles. Not everything can be plowed through, but most objects don't pose much of a problem for your car. You can earn bonus time by driving through colored rings, and the level ends when you collect everything, reach a designated stopping point, or run out of time.

The game was challenging, not only because of the course layouts, but also because of the controls. There was no analog control option available so you have to play the game entirely with tilt controls that act like a steering wheel. This scheme is hardly ideal when compared to the precision allowed by analog sticks, but we managed to do reasonably well outside of a few times when our car refused to let us make a U-turn.

We did well enough to clear the first level with a "C" rating. This allowed us to head to a new area--a child's play room filled with toys, blocks, and jumps. This one was a little tougher, and we were forced to use the radar that displays the location of remaining tokens more than we had in the first stage. Even with the added challenge, we passed the level and were taken to a bonus stage called milky way. This looked similar to the toy room but took place at night, and there were stars everywhere. The cool thing about the bonus level is that there are tokens everywhere so you can pretty much drive wherever you feel like, crashing through walls and running over toy soldiers, all the while collecting plenty of tokens.

As you'd likely expect, the game has a simple, colorful look to it. By no means does it push the PlayStation 3's visual capabilities, but it runs smoothly and the graphics get the job done. We were unable to find out if there would be any online support for the game, but it feels like it would be a natural fit, so hopefully Sony can make it happen.

Sony was unable to provide us with a release date, but the game seemed pretty far along, so it shouldn't be long before you're able to able to play Toy Home for yourself.