Toy Story 3 Hands-On Impressions

You would think that basing a game on the third entry in a popular movie franchise wouldn't leave a lot of room for creativity. After all, at that point, the movie's characters are so well defined and the universe so fleshed out that the development team working on the game wouldn't have a lot of uncharted terrain to explore. Fortunately, the Toy Story 3 game manages to feel like a unique movie tie-in despite sticking closely to the source material.

Whereas most movie games boil down to a note-for-note retelling of the movie's events, Toy Story 3 offers some interesting twists on that standard. The game is broken down into two halves: Story mode and Toy Box mode. Story mode is more or less what you'd expect--a puzzle platformer that uses characters and events from the movie. Playable characters include Woody, Buzz, and Jessie, and the story takes you on an adventure from Andy's room (he's all grown up now) to the day care center where the toys have made their new home.

However, Toy Box mode is the game's real selling point. This mode can be described as a family-friendly cross between Sim City and Grand Theft Auto (minus the violence and other nasty bits, of course). You play as those same lovable protagonists and assume the role of sheriff of a small Western town built entirely from toys. Toy Box mode is an open-world collection of gameplay opportunities where you run around and complete missions, play minigames, or just meander around and create your own fun.

Every mission you successfully complete nets you gold. You then use the gold to buy new buildings and inhabitants for your town, such as a haunted house that releases ghosts upon the world that you must then take care of, or a bearded farmer whose lost cows you have to rescue. The buildings can be customized and placed wherever you want, giving your town a personal touch. That extends right on down to the type of people who live in your town. We were able to search the haunted house for a mummy's tomb and then use the mummy outfit to dress up some of the adorable three-eyed green aliens seen in the movie.

You can get around by running on foot, jumping on Bullseye the horse, or buying new vehicles (like a toy racecar). The racecars will actually be able to take you to special zones within the world, including special racetracks and skate parks. Feel like taking a break from being the sheriff in order to use a monster truck to zip around on a bunch of giant ramps? By all means, go ahead. No one is stopping you.

So essentially, Toy Box mode is pretty much what its name implies: a big space for you to take some fun tools and create your own Toy Story world. Go wherever you want, do what you want, and don't worry about having to go where a prewritten story wants to take you. You can expect to see the game available June 15 on all major platforms, including a PlayStation 3 version that promises to make some use of the upcoming PlayStation Move controller.