Disney's Buzz Lightyear Action Game

The game has 14 primary missions that take place in nine different 3-D locations. Most of these locales are worlds: Jo-Ad, a pastoral planet; Karn, a swampy world where the ooze slows the action; and Flamar, a planet where players must dodge molten lava hazards, are just a few of the wild planets Buzz must visit. Players must help Buzz complete each mission before moving on to the next.

There are two levels of difficulty: Cadet and Space Ranger. As Buzz races through these strange worlds, there are shields, wild modes of transportation, and even teleport machines to help him on his way. The weaponry in this game would make Charlton Heston's day: there's a standard issue laser gun, homing plasma guns, iceguns, Gatling guns, arc lasers, and various grenades and rockets. We didn't know Buzz was such a shoot 'em up kind of guy!

Though the myriad missions take place in different settings, with different hazards, this Windows-only game can become boring, since the basic nature of each mission is chase and destroy. It's possible to win medals for rescuing little green men, and one of the two bonus levels involves finding all of the parts of a robot character (XR) who's been blown to bits, but even these extra elements are still just chase scenes with different motivations.

Attention to detail is missing on this program: Commander Nebula repeats mission instructions on an endless loop unless the player hits a space bar to interrupt, and even on the highest resolution setting, this game lacks that smooth, flawless Toy Story look. Also, the keyboard user interface was serviceable for game play, but it was counterintuitive and frustrating when we needed to change options. We think some of Zurg's minions may be to blame. (Ages 8 and up) --Anne Erickson

Amazon.com Product Description
Unite with Buzz Lightyear and his intergalactic crew for the ultimate mission: saving the universe. This CD-ROM lets galaxy warriors wander through 14action-packed levels and seven intergalactic worlds.

Players take on the role of Buzz Lightyear and come face to face with the evil Emperor Zurg. Joining Buzz Lightyear on his mission of intergalactic good is a team of rookie Space Rangers: Booster, who's just a bit too gung-ho; Mira Nova, with her cool way of "ghosting" through the world; and XR, a wise-cracking, gadget-filled robot.

Buzz Lightyear's worlds are brought to vivid, animated life. The colorful settings (seven in all) include Jo-Ad--covered in rolling green fields grazed upon by giant purple alien cattle--and Trade World, a futuristic urban environment where everything is for sale, thugs abound, and justice is sold to the highest bidder. Spooky Canis is lit only by a tiny neutron star, blanketed in perpetual darkness, and host to undead robots and werebots. Then there's Flamar. Located near a huge flaming sun, most of this world is a molten surface studded with volcanoes spewing explosive lava bombs.

Players collect credits by blasting Zurg's minions and running over coins. Power-ups cost credits but make Buzz Lightyear even more powerful with key accessories, including the jet pack, jet bike, hoverboard, and teleport. Once levels are successfully completed, they can be played again in two different bonus modes--time-attack and search-and-rescue. There are 70 medals to earn in total. Only the most stalwart of rangers will succeed.