Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Screenshots The Final Say! Gameplay 7.2 Graphics 7.4 Sound 7.5 Value 7.3 Ty The Tasmanian Tiger  - reviewed by Tory Favro Review Date: 26 December 2002 Review Score: 7.3/10  Distributor: Electronic Arts

Made by Australia's own Krome Studios, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is a new addition to the growing list of platforming titles on the Nintendo GameCube.   Ty the Tasmanian Tiger Features Players 1 Memory Card 1 block Classification: G Game Type: Platformer Skill Level: Beginner - Intermediate Dolby Pro Logic II   This game is a neat little platformer featuring the Tasmanian Tiger named Ty, who has to rescue his family from the clutches of the evil Boss Cass, who naturally enough is a cassowary.   The title is an odd one that I was somewhat loathe to review. Anyone who knows me knows that I love good platforming titles and my main concern was that this one would let me down after I let my expectations run a bit too high. Pleasingly enough, Ty came to the party and provided me with a great little romp through Krome's version of the Aussie Outback.   The first thing that I should get out of the way is this: Ty is not a hard game to play by any stretch of the imagination for any gamer over the age of about 12. It is an absolutely fun game for players of any age though that compensates for the somewhat too easy romp.   The game follows the well established Crash Bandicoot route of having portal worlds/areas that Ty can unlock and then visit  in order to collect items that he needs to power certain tools and the like. The story is not going to stretch your imagination one iota nor is it going to keep you riveted, unless as I specified before, you are younger than 12.   The game looks very good in my opinion and as you can see for yourself in these screenshots. Some of the surroundings are a little sparse but textures are used effectively to recreate each world's environment. There were also some nice interactive effects used such as the reeds and grass moving when Ty went through them. Real time shadows and lighting were also well utilised. My only real gripe was the animation for running with the same identical cloud of dust coming up each time. There could have been some kind of randomiser when there were a number of animations that could be used when performing a particular action. This would take some time longer with animation routines but would look very effective.

That's purely from a games geeks perspective and the average kid will not care that the same cloud of dust rises with every footfall. All said and done, it's quite a good looking game that really does not have that much wrong with it in terms of visual appeal. Ty is a cute looking little guy in boxers who throws a various array of boomerangs at anyone in his way and when that fails, he goes the chomp with those lovely teeth of his.

The game utilises many animals from the Australian bush and the voices used for them are great. It's slightly possible that Aussie gamers may weary of all the 'Ockerisms' used but our American friends will most likely have a blast with it. The control system is extremely easy to follow and I don't believe that there is really any learning curve in getting used to the game or the way it runs. The game provides an easy to understand tutorial for any new section of the action in any case which is a great help.

To sum it all up quickly. Ty is a lot of fun to play. Ty is very very easy to play. Ty looks and sounds good. Ty is very very easy to play (I know I repeated myself). Ty does not introduce anything new to the platform genre. Unless purchasing this game for kids, I hate to say it, but rent the game first and have a look. Don't get me wrong; it's a great game but I think that anyone over the age of 12 will finish it quickly and will not go back for seconds. That said, EA are selling this at a reduced price so you may find that it's worth snapping up for your collection. I know I did, but I am a sucker for platform games.

- Tory Favro