I, Huggy Bear, hereby declare myself Toy Commander! Review

I, Huggy Bear, hereby declare myself Toy Commander!

When in the course of playtime, it becomes necessary for old toys to dissolve

the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among

the powers of the toy-chest, the separate and equal station to which the Laws

of Mattel and of the Toy Commander entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions

of toykind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the

separation.

We

hold these truths to be self-evident, that all toys are created equal. Our plight

has been ignored long enough! True, we may not be your newest toys. And we may

not have the gadgets or lights that all your new toys have. And you might not

want to play with us anymore . . . but no one asked us if we were done playing

with you! Rebellion is in the air! Use those fancy new toys to try and stop

us, I dare you. I, Huggy Bear, was your very first toy, and when the battle

is over and the day is done, I will be your last toy. Viva la Revolucion!

One of the biggest joys a gamer can experience is a novel, new game. A game

that is so different from other games that it sets itself apart from the pack.

Toy Commander is such a game. With amazing graphics and one of the best

gameplay experiences, Toy Commander will spark the imagination of even

the most cynical gamer.

You are Andy, a young kid with an overactive imagination. Andy has always

ruled his house as the ultimate Toy Commander. Recently, you’ve gotten

a number of new toys that you’re spending all your time with, ignoring toys you

loved when you were younger. The old toys have risen up, led by the power-mad

Huggy Bear, the first toy you were ever given. Not your everyday occurrence now,

is it?

In order to stop the merciless Huggy Bear, you must use your new toys to quell

the uprising in various rooms of the house. [Or you could call Starsky and

Hutch! ~Ed] The battle rages from the kitchen, to the parent’s bedroom, to

the attic, and more. Each of the rooms has it’s own style, and all the objects

you encounter actually belong in the type of room that you’re in. Need a ramp

up to the counter in the kitchen? Try driving up the discarded cracker box. Stuck

on the floor in the children’s bedroom? Take a cruise on the slot-car track. The

attention to detail is unparalleled.

The

graphics are also top notch. Every item in every room is recognizable, from

the pair of skis hanging in the garage to the housecat licking itself in the

kitchen. The rooms aren’t small either. You’ve got a lot of ground to reclaim

from your malcontent toys, so you better get to it.

You must pass 50 different missions before reaching the final confrontation

in the basement with the vile Huggy Bear. The mission objectives vary greatly.

Sometimes you’re in a race, sometimes you must put out a fire, and sometimes you

have to decimate the enemy base. Each room also has a boss character that, once

defeated, will fight on your side against the brutal Huggy Bear.

What toys are at your disposal? Well, you’ve got 35 vehicles from three main

types (trucks, planes, and helicopters). While the inclusion of a few more types

of toys that you control would have been great, the diversity of gameplay makes

up for that.

There’s also a great multiplayer mode that allows four players to compete

head-to-head. With variations such as deathmatch and capture the flag, you have

to share your toys with your friends. Sorry, but sharing is good. Doesn’t anyone

watch Sesame Street anymore?

The physics engine is fantastic and based on the idea that a kid is holding

on to the side of the vehicle and pushing it along. But the most amazing thing

is that nearly all the objects in each room have real physical properties including

mass, shape and resilience. The interaction with ‘background’ objects is like

nothing ever seen in a game before and adds to the feeling of realism.

There is one main drawback to Toy Commander, and that’s the control,

which is a bit wily. When you’re driving up a ruler that’s barely wider than your

truck, you’re going to fall off a few times. The control can get really frustrating

and holds this game back from true greatness.

Simply put, Toy Commander is one of the best games to date for the

Dreamcast, and one of the neatest games I’ve ever played. I don’t know about you,

but there were areas of my house that I always wanted to play in, but was never

allowed to. Now, thanks to modern technology, I can play anywhere I want and mom’s

not around to send me to my room.