A movie tie-in...that works!
Now, because I own a PS2, I get all hyped up like the rest of you when a new game comes out. While everyone's raving about games like Ultimate Alliance 2 on their 360, I do the same...on my PS2. The only difference is that people just don't...well I guess you could say the PS2 isn't Sony's baby anymore, so it gets left in the dump when new games come out. Most new PS2 games are ports from PS2 or Wii. And that's just what Toy Story 3 is, a PSP port, minus the Playstation Network DLC, cuz PSN didn't show up till the PS3 took the spotlight (there was, however, things like PSP/PS2 connectivity, such as with Jak X Combat Racing and Daxter).
So, Toy Story 3 is a PSP port. It's a good one, though. If you have any doubts about this game, get rid of them, because this is a PSP port done RIGHT! It does, however, dissapoint me to see no REAL PS2 games coming out. You know, a game made exclusively for PS2. They're pretty much all ports. But, this is a good game. But I'm kind of sidetracking, so let's get on with this.
WHAT'S GOOD
-Great graphics that have been remastered for PS2
-Unlockable stuff is pretty cool
-13 story mode levels, plus almost the same amount of minigames
-3 different modes: Story, Cube Destruction, and Time Attack for each level
-Solid voice acting (TIM ALLEN DOES BUZZ!)
-Levels incorporate lots of puzzles
-Fairly cooperative camera
WHAT'S NOT
- No Toy Box Mode
-No multiplayer
-Levels are repetitive and use the "find x amount of objects" formula a lot
-Levels are very, very easy
-No real enemies to fight, except running from objects Indy style or robots in the Buzz Adventures
-Not a single boss to be found, either
GAMEPLAY
Toy Story 3 is a fairly easy-to-understand game. You move around, jump, do melee attacks, and interact with objects. You also gather objects like batteries for a mobile crane, jump over slighty perilous pits, collect stars, and follow(albeit somewhat loosely) the movie's story. Occasionally, you will need to sneak past people like Big Baby or Andy's mom. This is actually kind of fun. Sometimes the objectives are different, but the goal remains the same: get all the stars, break all the cubes, find the 8 hidden bulbs, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Standard formula, with a touch of Disney.
SOUND
Solid. Good. Cool. The sound is nice, with everything having its own little effects. They got Jim Hanks to do Woody and I swear Tim Allen does Buzz. Maybe Joan Cusack does Jessie, either that or they got somebody who sounds a heck of a lot like her. Whatever the case, they have great voice acting..though the occasional "OH BOY!" from Buzz just kills it.
GRAPHICS
It is a PSP port, so you won't see anything too fancy here. This is still a fantastic showcase for graphics. In the Caterpillar Room, you can see sunlight pouring in from the window, showing specks of dust floating in the air. In the Jessie level, thunder and lightning crash and boom from outside. You can see all these pictures of Andy from the original Toy Story if you look closely in some of the levels when you're in Andy's house. The game is beautifully detailed, and I'm not surprised, because Disney Interactive had a huge part in this game.
REPLAY VALUE
After the 13-level Story is beat, you've still got a lot of stuff left to do. For starters, you have to go back to every single Story level and do Time Attack and Cube Destruction(destroy all the cubes within a set time). Then, you can go back to the levels and try to get Trophies. Trophies are earned by completing certain objectives in the levels. For the Army Men's level, you need to collect 8 light bulbs and push down 2 blinds in one go. When you get these trophies, you can unlock small stuff. When you find all 8 rails in the Train level, train tracks appear under Bonnie's bed, and other stuff like that.
Then, you've got the minigames. There are 3 minigames: Woody's Roundup, Buzz Adventures, and Alien Escapes. These all relate to Toy Story 2. Woody's Roundup plays just like it was shown in the second movie: it's 2.5 D, the characters have puppet strings on them, and you have to jump over stuff like rocks or duck under lampposts. Sometimes, you stop at a Saloon, and bad guys will pop up in the windows with a button over their heads, and you need to press these to take them out. It's a nice reflex-tester. Buzz Adventures plays like the Buzz Lightyear video game Rex epicly failed at in the beginning of Toy Story 2. You go around with Buzz's laser, jumping on floating platforms (THE TERRAIN SEEMS A BIT...UNSTABLE), shooting at Zurg's ridiculous robots, and using your jetpack to fly and avoid walls as you go. Alien Escapes is like a puzzle. You have 3 aliens that you have to switch back and forth from to get through the level, as they help eachother in one way or another. All of the minigames are really fun.
In all, Toy Story 3 is a movie tie-in that shines. It gets so many things right. It doesn't have the seemingly coveted Toy Box mode that the shiny new PS3/360/Wii versions have, and it lacks multiplayer and anything online, but it's good enough for me. If you have a PS2, this is one you should definitely consider.