Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

Bugs Bunny & Taz: 

Time Busters!

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A Techtite Review

There's nothing like a good surprise. That's what I had, when seeing the latest Infogrames' game release, based on classic Warner Bros. cartoon characters. I had a lot of fun playing their earlier game, Bugs Bunny Lost in Time, yet this sequel seemed to pop in from nowhere. Where are the magazine advertisements that should've told me the good news: Bugs Bunny can be played as always, yet now he is with Tasmanian Devil as a sidekick! It's one of many amusing ideas in this game, that really pay off in the end.

The story of this action-adventure (though mostly action) involves Granny, the elderly woman often seen as the owner of Tweety Bird (who makes a cameo appearance as well). She hires an exterminator (Daffy Duck) who accidentally breaks her Time Regulator. Don't ask why she has a giant time regulator in her little house; the point is that Bugs and Taz are "hired" to help her find Daffy in four periods of time, as well as the time gem he stole, and any number of gears that flew off the machine (gears being the items to search for, in a 3D-action-game formula made popular by Super Mario 64). Levels are also quite similar to the Mario game series, giving PC (and Playstation) owners a chance to play a game similar to those found on that "other" system!

The four separate time periods are totally different from the original game's. Thankfully, that Flintstone-like dinosaur era has been replaced with a far more intriguing Egyptian-like era, in addition to a Viking era, an Arabian Knights-type area, and lastly, a not-so-spooky Transylvanian era. Admittedly, none of the areas are as elaborate as more mature games like Thief 2, and yet therein lies half the game's charm. Each level environment is suitable for all ages that love the cartoons the game is based on. Within each level are additional mini-quests, often including involving mini-games that can be replayed over and over, if you wish. Such mini-games include Rugby, Soccer, and Basketball, with enough impressive AI from your computer opponents to make re-play more than worthwhile.

Either one or two players to play as Bugs or Taz, or one player can play as both (the "S" key will switch between them at will). Each character has special skills: Taz has his tornado-spin ability, for example, while Bugs can tunnel underground to find other areas/items. In separate puzzles, Bugs excels in agility (he can jump higher) while Taz is best at strength (Taz can throw, push, and fight better than Bugs). Nintendo fans might cry foul, in how much this game seems not unlike a recent sequel of the Nintendo 64 fave, Banjo Tooie. Much like that game, two main characters solve puzzles either together or separately. However, this game can be forgiven for a few liberties with similar game design, especially when, quite frankly, playing as Bugs and Taz is pretty cool!

Gameplay is equally cartoonish, which again is half the game's charm. Fall from any height and merely become flat for a few seconds, only to pop back into shape (no heath is lost with such accidental falls, making exploration easy and fun). Health is restored by carrots, which can be found everywhere; leave an area and return, and new carrots have sprouted. Even with a mini-quest like the magic carpet ride (shown here), losing the chase leads to little more than a prompt to either try again, or to move on to a different puzzle. Such design makes the game suitable for many ages (hence its "everyone" rating by the ESRB).

Guest characters are equally present. While I was disappointed that Marvin the Martian is a no-show this time around, the game does offer Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd as "Boss Characters" to defeat. Additional adversaries include Count Bloodcount (shown here),  though I was disappointed at the lack of salutes to the Count's exploits with Bugs (remember when Bugs learned the words Abracadabra and Hocus-Pocus?). I also was surprised that a "Viking era" Elmer Fudd had a "Magic Hammer" instead of his "Spear and Magic Helmet" from the classic operatic cartoon. I guess I'm only nitpicking, however, because these aren't major problems with the game in itself.

The PC computer version still has one glaring flaw, however. There's an apparent bug (no pun intended, Bugs!) where a particular directional keyboard key suddenly becomes "automatically" pressed, with poor Bugs going in a circle to the left or right until you quit the game and try again. This flaw is best resolved by using a gamepad/joystick as your control option (where no such flaws occur), though it's still pretty annoying when, for all intent and purpose, keyboard-control is not as easy as it should be. Speaking of the PC version; I can understand why the game versions are so similar, that two-players can only play on the same computer (much like how any two-player Playstation game can only be played on one console). For PC owners, LAN and/or internet co-op play would've jumped this game's quality a few notches.

Regardless of these small PC-version gripes, the game is still a lot of fun, and more than worth it for fans of the classic cartoons. From anvils falling from the sky (hopefully on enemies, not you!), to that rarity in games to be "G rated" and still be fun, this game has a lot to offer for those of us who enjoy games of this type. Sure, the formula is getting rather stale these days, though much like a tenth Star Trek film, the formula should still be very enjoyable, for people who enjoy the game genre itself.

	Final Rating : Large Crater. For fans of this type of "Super Mario clone" action-adventure, this game is pretty fun! Playing as Taz is just plain fun.
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Click box cover (at left) to order this game (PC version).

Also available for the following game systems (click on system name to order): Playstation