Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters

People tend to forget this, but this is actually a sequel to bugs bunny lost in time given how this game has the same time travel gimmick as that does. The big difference of course is that this is a multiplayer game meaning that while it is possible to play this in your own, the game wants you to play it with a friend which naturally gives it issues that prevent it from being perfect like its predecessor.

The biggest problem is that there's no split screen, meaning the game lives and dies on whoever is controlling the camera which can be changed at will between both players at any time. The game rectifies this issue with the "call friend" mechanic that instantly warps the other player to the one in control of the camera, however there are large chunks of the game which prevents you from doing this and can naturally lead to stressful situations. This issue is less prevalent in single player since the character not holding the mirror remains stationary during gameplay (except for scripted events where a second player would otherwise be necessary) however this means that the player has to manually move both characters in those areas where the "call friend" mechanic is unavailable, making for a tedious playthrough. The game works fine regardless of which mode you're playing through, but it could've been handled better overall.

So why am I giving this game a high score if there's a serious issue with it then? That's because what it has to offer almost makes this a trivial issue as there's so many things you can do to give you hours of fun providing you can overcome its flawed mechanic. Instead of clocks and golden carrots, you now have gears to collect which are dotted throughout each map but is immensely satisfying when you collect the rarer gears in the game. Many of them come as rewards from minigames that can be played in single player but are truly a blast when played with a friend, the sports matches in particular are a highlight due to them following the logic of the loony tunes shorts that this game is based on. Speaking if the old shorts, the villains are once again based on those old cartoons and are faithfully depicted in this game as they were all those years prior. There weren't many episodes where bugs and Taz were working together, so seeing them do just that in this game is also a delight as they make for a wonderful, odd couple as the story progresses. There aren't as many worlds to explore as the previous game, however these worlds are more richly designed which makes up for that. I also enjoy the vehicle levels as they too operate in way that possible to beat in single player but truly shine in multiplayer due to what actions each character partakes in universe.

It has flaws, some of which can make this a tedious experience overall, but what it does right is worthy of a playthrough despite these flaws. It's little surprise that other franchises have attempted to copy this games formula to varying degrees of success.