Toy Story 3 Review

Toy Story 3 is a game that sets the benchmark for movie tie-ins.

For a long time, there has been a certain stigma when it comes to games based on their movie counterparts. “Rubbish” is a word that often springs to mind, especially for games such as Ratatouille. Toy Story 3, however, makes up for the years of gaming abuse we’ve endured, and gives us a challenging and nostalgic platform game mixed with a deep open world experience.

The Story Mode is a short but challenging affair in which one or two players can work through the eight or nine levels based loosely on the film. My personal favourites are the platform-heavy Buzz Lightyear Game and Bonnie’s House levels. Fans of the films will connect to the game from the opening title screen, which is accompanied by Randy Newman’s “You Got a Friend in Me”. For those (very rare) people that have not seen any of the films, this is still a game you can get much enjoyment from.

The game has two main modes, Story Mode and Toy Box Mode. In Story Mode, you play through the usual levels based on the film, and can switch between using Buzz, Woody and Jessie. They all have different unique abilities, so it is required to change things up in order to finish a level. Woody can use his pull-string to swing from things, Jessie is light and can balance on poles and hooks, and Buzz is the strongest and can pick up and throw the other two furthest. You start on the opening train chase level from the film as Woody, and there is a great mix of variety in the levels. There are chase levels, stealth levels, action levels, and good old-fashioned platform levels. The story mode is great, and full of collectibles, but is short compared to most games. The meat of Toy Story 3 can be found in the Toy Box mode.

Toy Box mode pits you as any of the three playable characters in a small town based on Woody’s Roundup. You have to do missions for the other toys and slowly build the town up with new buildings, residences, and landmarks. You must also uphold the law by stopping bank robberies and muggings. You buy new toys from Al’s Toy Barn, and with each purchase, new missions will be unlocked. You can decorate the buildings and dress the characters how you see fit. The missions can be done in any order when they are unlocked, too. The open world is quite large, and each area is linked together via a system of wells which the player can jump down to transport.

The game looks great, handles great, and most importantly is faithful to the films it’s based on. It’s one of those games that are challenging enough for adults, but fun and rewarding enough for kids. If you die numerous times on the same part, the game makes it easier for you. The checkpoints occur often, so there’s no replaying the same parts over and over, and there’s loads of hidden items to collect for those who like a good search. I recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of platform games, co-op games, and open world games. It’s a fitting end to a brilliant trilogy.

Games: Toy Story 3, Platforms: PS3, Genres: Platformer, Publishers: Disney Interactive Studios, Developers: Avalanche Software