Looney Tunes: Back in Action
pits you as both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as you traverse a casino, Area
“52,” the Louvre, and a jungle in search of the mythical Blue Monkey Diamond.
Along the way you’ll run across several familiar faces, both friend and foe,
from the Looney Tunes universe.
You play the game from an
isometric 3-D view; dodging generic “Acme” enemies or attacking them with good
old “Acme” approved weapons such as the falling anvil and piano. As you
traverse the themed levels you’ll be required to collect “munkeys” which you
need to capture in order to open up the next area of any given level, as well
as “Munnies,” which open up the “Bomb Disposal” mini-game. The “Bomb
Disposal” game gives you a set amount of time to push 10 falling bombs from a
maze-like platform before they explode. Succeed and you are awarded an extra
life, fail and well, you just keep doing it to your heart’s desire or until
you succeed.
You, as the player, have
the ability to switch between Bugs and Daffy at will. Both play virtually
identical to each other except for a couple of key ways that come in handy
when solving the games puzzles. Scattered throughout the levels are rabbit
holes, which serve as warp points to places you might not otherwise be able to
reach. Of course the catch is that only Bugs can use these holes. Daffy’s
special ability, being that he’s a duck, is that he can swim to areas
otherwise unreachable; whereas Bugs finds a watery grave if he ventures into
the drink. The use of the two characters is very straightforward and gamers
of the youngest age should have no trouble knowing which character to use in
any given scenario. Also included in the gameplay department is Pole
Position-esque driving levels that as a rule, prove more challenging than the
rest of the game. It’s not really so much that it was designed to be
difficult, it’s that it proves difficult with the speed the environments race
past you, making it hard to judge whether you’re about to hit an obstacle or
the absolutely, positively required power-ups. The power-ups are vital
because you cannot and will not win these levels on speed alone. On the
whole, the gameplay is very straightforward.
Where this game really
shines is in the graphics department. I was absolutely floored when I first
fired this game up. Games on the GBA are just not supposed to look this rich
and detailed. From the characters, both playable and non-playable, to the
environments, everything is incredibly well done. But, the gorgeous visuals
come at a terrible price and that is game and life-affecting slow-down.
You’ll find yourself motoring through a level and suddenly you’re trapped in
quick sand with the slow-mo button pushed for good measure. This happens when
there are two or more enemies on screen at once, or when there is a lot of
animation in the background. And make no mistake, no matter how careful and
diligent a gamer you are; it will cost you lives and health when you can least
afford to lose it. There are some ways you can deaden the pain this will
cause and that’s by turning tail and running in the opposite direction until
the exact moment the enemies disappear from the screen, when you’ll need to
begin pelting them with eggs as soon as the first enemy shows. You’ll have to
do this a few times depending on the number of enemies coming after you, but
it does prove pretty effective. Another price the visuals exact on the game
is in the sound department. The music and the nearly non-existent sound
effects are bare-boned at best. You’re either treated to a “tinny” rendition
of the Looney Tunes theme music or generic “gameplay” music for each level.
After a while it all just runs together and it begins to be difficult to
discern each song from the last.
On the whole, if you’re a
fan of the Looney Tunes, you’ll most likely find some short-lived enjoyment
with this game, as it clocks in on the very short end. The graphics are
stunning; the environments are interesting if not clichéd, and the gameplay is
solid when not forced to a crawl. Overall it’s a pretty good effort at
providing a rewarding Looney Tunes games.
Gameplay: 6
Solid for the
most part. The driving levels are hit or
miss, but they are kept to a minimum. The slow-down will affect your gameplay
when it rears its ugly head, but otherwise, everything works as it should.
Swapping Bugs and Duffy is also handled well and adds an extra element to the
puzzles.
Graphics: 9
Some of the best
I’ve seen on this platform. Beautiful and sharp, but as I said earlier, the
great graphics come at the price of gameplay and sound.
Sound: 4
Bare. There’s
not a whole lot to be had here. The developer would have been better off just
cutting everything else and looping a higher quality version of the Looney
Tunes theme.
Difficulty: Medium
It’ll prove to be
somewhat challenging for the novice or child gamer, but experienced gamers
should have no trouble breezing through the game.
Concept: 7
A decent game based on a universally loved license.
There’s a nice mix of gameplay to be had in this cart, and the design of the
game shows that the developer tried to do justice to the license and the fans.
Overall: 6
Had it not been
for the frequent slowdown and the “iffy” driving sequences this game could
have scored an 8 easily, making it one of the better entries on the GBA. As
it is, these issues pull the overall score down from what it
could’ve/should’ve been, but it’s still a an enjoyable, solid experience,
especially if you like the Looney Tunes.
