Toy Story 3 The Video Game

I played this game with my child and we decided the only way to do a proper review was to offer both our viewpoints. So without any further ado, here's what we thought!

CHAPTER ONE: Train Rescue

My thoughts: Woody played the action hero to a T, as he raced off to save a train full of orphans from the evil Dr. Porkchop. It fit the overall mood of Toy Story and I was very impressed. The jumping puzzles weren't too difficult to figure out here.

Quotes from my child: "When I first played Woody, I thought the game would be easy and hard too. I died a lot, but when I figured out how to jump and move around, I liked trying to help the orphans. Those orphans needed to be saved. I felt happy not leaving any of them behind and getting a trophy."

CHAPTER TWO: Andy's House

My thoughts: Unlike the first level's imaginary setting, our characters are set up in "Toy Reality" - we have to move around the room/basement with the limitations that a toy would go through. This level is designed to get us used to each character's strengths and weaknesses like Jesse being able to land on small areas, Woody using his pull string as a lasso, and Buzz throwing each character across long distances.

Quotes from my child: "When I was trying to get the cell phone, I knew this would be hard. My dad helped me when I got frustrated. When we got to the basement, my dad had to explain how the paratroopers flew. It was tricky getting to the cordless phone, but we figured it out."

CHAPTER THREE: Buzz Video game

My thoughts: This level was a lot harder than the previous two levels. It involved platform jumping, but unlike games like Super Mario Bros., this added the dimension of depth. The jumping goes from being challenging to extremely frustrating, especially for younger gamers.

Quotes from my child: "There were 3 parts to this level. The first was the shooting part - the game told me how to shoot the boulders, but I had to dodge rocks while flying and that was hard. The next part was jumping around on moon rocks and I thought that was hard too. There were so many broken pieces and I fell a lot. I didn't understand the part with shooting the crystals at first. The 3rd part was Zurg's fortress, and when those big spikes came at me I knew I would die, I had to run towards "me" which was confusing."

CHAPTER FOUR: Sunnyside Daycare.

My thoughts: This level was fun, but it's another one based in "Toy Reality" - you have to do a lot of platform jumping to get to the lights, and if you have brought the wrong character, it wastes time. Getting the special cards is not easy because you have to complete carnival games, which are tough for an old gamer like me, and extremely frustrating for younger gamers.

Quotes from my child: "I needed my dad's help to play this level because there were hard games like hitting all the aliens without missing any. I got angry when I would miss a jump and fall off the lights. There were lots of jumps."

CHAPTER FIVE: Bonnie's House

My Thoughts: This level introduced some hard elements - up until now, we had platform jumps that were difficult, but on this level, the jumps have time limits. Instead of playing the game at a relaxed pace, now we have to run and complete jumps before we drown in coffee or fall to our deaths. This stage includes rail sliding on the spaceship, which reminded me of Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. We also had to pick up batteries...one false move and we had to go back and get the battery again.

Quotes from my child: "I drowned. A LOT. This level wasn't easy, I couldn't figure out where to jump. The rail sliding on the spaceship was super fast and tricky. The part with the peppermints made me angry because I fell a lot. I told my dad I'd have to be at least 15 years old to get past this part. I wanted to take breaks from playing because it kept getting harder with every level."

CHAPTER SIX: Prison Break

My Thoughts: As if the game wasn't hard enough, now a stealth element is added. We return to Sunnyside Daycare at nighttime, and the main goal of this level is to rescue your trapped toy friends. Buzz is not selectable, and you have to avoid searchlights while you wander around. Michael Scofield would be proud that I got through this level without being spotted.

Quotes from my child: "I kept getting caught! This wasn't as hard as Bonnie's house but I still needed help. I got mad when the lights found me but at least I wasn't drowning in coffee!"

CHAPTER SEVEN: Junkyard

My Thoughts: The first part of this level is saving 3 aliens from a chop-o-matic trash machine. Two player assistance is recommended but not required. If you haven't gotten used to switching between characters yet, this next part forces it on you. We have to save our friends before they are melted, crushed, and sliced into fish bait. Each character has a specific task that must be completed for the other two characters to move forward.

Quotes from my child: "I kept getting sad on this level because I didn't want Slinky or Hamm or anyone else to get hurt and when we didn't know what to do quick enough, I knew they wouldn't make it. My dad had to play most of this level."

CHAPTER EIGHT: Haunted Bakery

My Thoughts: After all the previous stages, this level was a well-deserved change of pace. The level consists of running around and shooting an army of muffins and evil witches (yes, you read that correctly). There's no platform jumping to worry about: just shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more.

Quotes from my child: "Finally, an easy level! My dad kept getting the toy balls and I played as Buzz, shooting the witches with the cannon. We got all the cards and hidden things and I smiled a lot."