Oh yeah, this game rocks.
But then... Then there's games like Toy Story 2. Toy Story 2 acts and feels pretty much like a standard 3D platformer. You control Buzz Lightyear in your quest to save Woody from Stinky Pete and Al McWiggin. The story is in fact just like the movie, in fact it even uses some animated cutscenes from it, so if you're familiar with the movie you already know the plot of the game. But even if you aren't, it doesn't really matter. Why?
Because this game focuses on the fun factor. The plot isn't really important, but you'll realize soon enough that this game, even though it's simple and does not have the "OH GOD" effect you get when you play Insomniac or Naughty Dog platformers, is actually very well done and well thought out in general, and they didn't make it just to put a toy story 2 game to the market, because this game is very well made, and extremely fun.
The game is divided in various stages where you control Buzz Lightyear and you have to collect coins as well as do various tasks for some of Buzz's friends (I can't remember all of their names but there's a lot of bonus challenges in each stage) that earn you some bonus stuff as well, which I think is required to unlock other levels. Don't think this gets in the way though, as the challenges are all very fun and are a welcome addition to make the gameplay less linear. Aside for these challenges the game plays pretty much like what you'd expect from a good 3D platformer. You're armed with what appears to be a light buster, and you can fire red lasers at enemies multiple times or, much like Mega Man, you can charge up your buster to deliver a yellow laser that deals more damage to enemies, and can be especially useful against bosses. You also got many other moves like double jumps, a stomp jump that may also damage enemies, as well as other things that I'll let you find out by yourself.
The stages are all set in some places of the city: There's Andy House, some suburs place that looks very creepy, a mall, Al's house, the airport, Andy's garden, and so on. All of the levels are somewhat unique, and although I certainly like the airport levels more than I like the suburs ones, all of them are fun to play and explore. And as all good 3D platformers, this one has lots of action, but also many puzzles. These puzzles of course aren't complicated, but they are simple, genuine and entertaining, and are a really good break from the shooting parts. Then there are some specific boss stages where you fight some larger and stronger enemies that sometimes take a lot of hits before you can defeat them, but the battles are never frustrating and are fun. I actually expected more from the final boss, but I guess it stays true to the movie. I won't tell you what it is, though :P
The graphics are PS1-standard, and I think they are very good: all toy enemies are well done as are the textures and Buzz's interface and graphics. As I mentioned every time you finish a level you also get a cutscene from the movie to get an update on the story, but it's not like that matters much anyway, since this is all about the gameplay. I also found the music to be very good, personally.
Overall, this is definitely a game you should check out, even if it's quite old. It's just about fun, which is all that counts in a game anyway. This game may not be Spyro or Ratchet & Clank 3 or Jak 2, but I don't think being a toy has ever been as fun as this game.