Toonstruck - Virgin Interactive / Burst
            (Graphic adventure for PC, CD only)

                      Reviewed by Sue

Cartoonist Drew Blanc (gettit?) is in deep trouble. Not only has
he forgotten his last three dental appointments and has another
one the next day, but he's late for an appointment for his boss!
Arriving there his boss, Mr Schmaltz, reminds him it's the 10th
anniversary of Drew's Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun show. Schmaltz wants
to revitalise the show. Drew is really fed up with Fluffy and he's
horrified when his boss suggests that the answer is to add ...
more bunnies!  And he wants the art work tomorrow.

Drew sets to work but, rather than his head being full of thoughts
of cute bunnies, all he can think of is an old creation of his -
Flux Wildly - an eccentric purple scatterbrain with an attitude
problem. Drew had thought up Flux when he was young and the
cartoonist falls asleep ... he wakes at 4am, a storm raging and
his TV set on, showing the Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show! How can
this be happening? he is asking himself. A zap later, he is sucked
into the TV and finds himself on a hillside surrounded by bunnies.
Then a strange machine flies overhead and fires a ray at the hill,
narrowly missing Drew who is bowled out of the way by a purple
blur.  It's Flux, his old buddy, to the rescue. Drew tells Flux
that he has to get home but Flux can't help though he knows
someone who can and takes Drew to the palace of King Hugh, the
ruler of this land, which is evidently (and appropriately) called
Cutopia.

Flux explains Drew's problem to King Hugh, who looks like a
walking Smiley in robes. The King is very sympathetic and says he
will help him get home, in exchange for a favour. A local baddie,
Count Nefarious, ruler of the Malevolands which adjoin Cutopia,
is attacking Cutopia with his invention the Malevolator, which is
turning the cuddly Cutopians into warped parodies of their true
selves.  King Hugh wants to build a Cutifier to counter the
Malevolator and reverse its damage. But they need help to finish
the machine.  Once that is done, the King will help Drew get home.
And so the game starts, with Drew and Flux ushered out of the
throne room. Meeting up with the King's Engineer, an eccentric
blue bird called Bricabrac, and after helping him find his
glasses, they eventually are given the plans for the Cutifier,
though not exactly a list of what they need. All they are told is
what items were used for the Malevolator - spice, a dagger, some
stripes, a heart and so on, 12 items in all. They know that in the
Cutifier sugar will replace spice so that gives you a hint for the
sorts of things you're looking for.

Off set Drew and Flux, meeting Cutopians, and helping them in
various ways, in traditional adventure fashion, in order to get
closer to their goal. There's a Scottish-Irish barman (shaped like
a kilt-wearing shamrock and made of cheese) whose life and bar are
being terrorised by a mouse. Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun is depressed
for various reasons - her meadow has been blasted by that nasty
old Malevolator but most of all she's got cotton candy to eat and
she likes popcorn - life is pointless! A scarecrow ... I mean
carecrow ...  tends a field of corn and the crows that inhabit it
and is, as Drew puts it, "as camp as a row of tents"!  He will
swap his cloak for a stylish garment and will give the daring duo
a list of his requirements. A mean forest squirrel jealously
guards his hoard of nuts - what will make him give them up? A path
nearby leads through woodland to the Malevolands but a big bad
wolf (BB to his friends) won't let you past unless you help him
out by providing some wine.

A strange bit of transportation (elephant powered cable car, would
you believe) leads to Flux's homeland, Zanydu. Here you will meet
some more strange characters including a body building bulldog who
sounds like Arnie (no, not OUR SynTax Arnie, the Austrian "I'll be
back" one), and two eccentrics who run the local Wacme office.
Drew and Flux will have to deal with a vulture and try
fish-flushing in this place and taking part in a phone competition
will get them a useful prize if you've been observant.

Finally getting past BB and entering the Malevolands, it turns out
not to be so scary after all though Drew and Flux will have to
watch out for the Count's three henchmen who have been physically
altered in strange ways - should they get caught, they'll be
thrown into jail. In this area they will also find a handy method
of quick transportation between the three main regions, meet a
robot maker and watch an impressive display of hare-pin butt
bowling!

So, things progress and the two finally collect all the items
needed for the Cutifier. Is their adventure over? Is Drew sent
back home?  Sadly for him, no - but luckily for us because it
means we have more game to look forward to! There is a twist in
the tale, which I won't give away, but suffice it to say that Drew
finds himself braving Nefarious's castle and tangling with his
right hand ... erm ... cat, Miss Fortune ... in a further effort
to get home.

Toonstruck is a great game, one of the most entertaining I've
played for ages. The voices are excellent, and the actors
providing the voices include my hero Tim "Rocky Horror Show"
Curry, Dom DeLuise, David Ogden-Stiers (Winchester from M*A*S*H)
and, of course, Christopher Lloyd stars as Drew Blanc, the only
human character during the main game as all the rest of them, and
the backgrounds, are well-drawn cartoons. Yes, it's Roger Rabbit
all over again as Christopher Lloyd acts with cartoon companions
and objects. Like Guybrush Threepwood and Simon he has a huge
inventory (a bottomless bag) and hides all objects he finds inside
his jacket.

Two of my favourite characters, though, were the carecrow and
Fingers, the octopus who runs the amusement arcade in Cutopia.
All of them had great lines but the carecrow's were excellent and
spot on for his personality whereas Fingers, who comes from
Zanydu, finds the sugary-sweet Cutopians too much for his more
cynical nature. Tim Curry is suitably menacing as Nefarious too.

I found the game hilarious but Alan's nephew Neal saw a demo and
hated it so I guess it's down to personal taste. (Like me He is a
big fan of Terry Pratchett so I can't make the excuse that he just
has bad taste and no sense of humour <eg>).

The ending is good and leaves the way open for a sequel. I can't
wait!
                              - o -