Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3 Impressions

While real Tasmanian tigers may be extinct, the boomerang-toting marsupial, Ty, of Krome Studios' adventure game series, perseveres with a plucky attitude and his numerous heroic feats. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3 is slated to arrive from Down Under later this year, and it will sport some tweaks to its overall gameplay while striving to keep its open, kid-friendly feel. We were able to check out a running demo of the various areas of the game, and it looks like fans of the series are going to find themselves right at home and pleased with the new enhancements.

The game was introduced to us with a subtitle of "Night of the Quinkan," with quinkans being evil creatures of Australian Aboriginal myth. It seems that Ty's homeland has been invaded by these mysterious entities, and he'll need to fight to push them out. He'll be joined by some of his familiar mates from the first two games, and we were told that Ty 3 will feature a lot more of the crew running around with him on his various missions, both on foot and in vehicles.

As always, Ty will leap into the fray using his trusty boomerang as a weapon. The boomerang has two modes of attack: you can either fling the device at far-off enemies, or smack their ugly mugs with the weapon up close. When enemies are within melee range of Ty, he'll automatically switch from tossing his weapon to gripping it tightly and attacking with it directly. As you battle foes, you'll be able to enact combo attack chains that'll net you opals as a reward, and you'll also be able to find upgrades for the boomerang in the form of stones. While previous games gave you different sorts of 'rangs to use, Ty 3 will instead provide you with various boomerang chassis, to which you can then attach items to imbue the object with a number of properties. For example, fire stones will give your weapon a fire power, while ice stones will give you an ice ability. You'll also be able to add other items that give you the ability to zoom, a magnet power that lets the boomerang pick up items, and so on.

Ty will also be able to take his battles to the skies using bunyips, flying vessels that look to play a bit like an arcade-style rail shooter. You'll be able to control some of the movement of the bunyip (to execute barrel rolls, loop-the-loops, and the like) while your overall progress will be along a set path through the air. Krome promises a number of different mission types that will be centered on using the bunyips, which will also be upgradeable via various power-ups you can pick up in flight. Those items will grant your ship things like shields, higher attack damage, longer attack range, and an ability to speed around faster than normal.

Much like the previous title, you'll be able to participate in kart racing in Ty 3. But, unlike the previous title, you won't have to play through the story mode first, as multiplayer is available right out of the box and doesn't need to be unlocked. The racing will take place over six tracks in varying locales, such as deserts, rain forests, and even mangrove swamps. Your squat little vehicles will have both offensive and defensive abilities like in other kart games, and those will also be tied to stones, much like the boomerang powers are. For instance, grabbing an ultrastone would give you the ability to send out a force wave from your kart, or you could use it defensively to create a shield.

The bright and cartoony world of Ty 3 appears simply designed but attractive, with the mostly adorable cast of characters appearing much the same as they have before. Indeed, Ty 3 looks to be keeping very much in the existing spirit of the series, providing the adventure experience that fans have come to enjoy, while piling on some additional customization options, new vehicles (the bunyips), and catering to fans by providing multiplayer modes immediately. Ty will return to the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and GBA platforms by the end of the year, so keep your Aussie-loving eyes on our site for continuing coverage.