Rating: G
Players: 4
Genre: Arcade, Multiplayer
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Release Date: 15th September 2009 (NA)

RENT

Being a big Pixar fan, of course I have seen the Toy Story movies and I’m eagerly awaiting installment #3′s release in 2010. I’ve even played a Game Boy version from the Toy Story empire, but we aren’t exactly friends any more if you get my drift. Now we have a new game for the Wii by the name of “Toy Story Mania!”.

Based on the real life attraction “Toy Story Midway Mania!” at California’s Disney theme parks (as well as the Toy Story movies), “Toy Story Mania!” is a series of arcade-style mini-games to test your skills on. Many of these mini-games are the same as those you’ll find at the Disney theme parks, but there are also some generated for this game specifically. A lot of your favourite characters join in on the fun including Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, Hamm, the little green aliens and more.

When you pick Story Mode, you have a choice of 6 different areas to play in. Each one has a theme; for example if you picked the area where Buzz features, then all of the mini-games have a space theme to them. Each mini-game has a set of objectives to fulfil. If you do manage to complete all of the objectives, then the mini-game is unlocked in Free Play mode. If you don’t complete them all you have the option of trying again or proceeding to the next game.

Once you’ve completed the area, your points get tallied up in order to receive tickets – the games currency. These tickets allow you to buy games to play in Free Play and stickers and new pages for the Sticker Book – all of which are accessible in the Prizes menu.

While I enjoyed playing the different themed areas in Story Mode, the thing that was lacking was an actual storyline. When you select the area to play in, there is a tiny cutscene at the beginning and the end of the entire session, but in between there’s nothing along the lines of a story.

Ready to play Woody's Rootin' Tootin' Shootin'?

In Free Play mode, your choices are Quick Play, Play All and Build. Quick Play gives you the opportunity to pick one of the mini-games you unlocked in Story mode, and just play it as it is. Play All allows you to play all of your unlocked mini-games, while Build lets you pick which games you want to play in whatever order you like.

Should you wish to play with more than 1 person, you can either pick however many players you’d like at the start (up to 4) or they can join in later after you’ve started. The gameplay doesn’t change much but there are instances where you have to play a session each, and then play in the next session together. But again it’s not much different than if you were playing on your own.

Provided with your copy of “Toy Story Mania!” is 2 pairs of 3D glasses – these are so you can play certain mini-games in 3D (accessible in Free Play). While 3D never seems 3D to me while wearing red & blue lenses, I was able to discern the different element it gave to the gameplay. It didn’t make me enjoy it any differently though.

Another thing that didn’t quite work was the Wiimote. Now while the Wiimote itself functioned properly, and the sensor bar was clear of obstruction, whenever I tried to aim in a certain spot the target pointer sometimes disappeared from the screen or jumped to a different position while I was trying to shoot at something.

If you are looking to have a bit of light fun for you and your young family, then “Toy Story Mania!” could be what you’re after. Adults on their own may get bored pretty quickly, so if you are able to I would recommend hiring it out first just to see if you would find it worthwhile.

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.