Not surprisingly, game companies work hard to create mascots that people will remember and love. Mascots not only embed a company's image and name into customers' heads, but a well made one also adds a touch of individuality to the group it represents. The Loony Toons character Bugs Bunny certainly qualifies as a famous mascot, and some would even say an American icon. Unfortunately the PlayStation game does not possess the level of uniqueness that its starring character does. While the game itself has no inherent problems, it simply feels like yet another of the many 3D adventure games already available today.
The game does portray the cartoons' mood relatively well. Bugs once again misses that turn at Albuquerque and ends up in a strange land. This time however, not only does Bugs not recognize the place, but he does not know the current time period of the world either. In order to return to his time zone, Bugs needs to collect various items, scattered throughout several lands and moments in time.
The graphics paint a world that does mimic the toons' landscapes quite accurately. For a polygonal game, Bugs Bunny does a fine job at creating convincing cartoon-like appearance. Players who watch the Loony Toons will immediately recognize the colorful, bright, landscapes of each level. Most of the characters lack the sharp, ugly edges found on so many other characters in 3D games, and hence closely resemble the original hand-drawn characters found in the original cartoons. However, despite the simplistic, unshaded backgrounds, the game also displays a gross amount of draw-in, especially on distant objects. Still, for a cartoony looking game, draw-in probably looks better than heavy fog would. For the most part, the pop-up problems do not interfere with the game; they just prevent it from looking highly polished.
Just like the graphics, the sounds work well with the game and further enhance the mood. Most of the main characters' phrases fit in well and feel like they belong in the game, rather than simply thrown in because the designers wanted to fill some more space. The soundtrack, while not a work of art, complements the levels just fine.
As previously mentioned, the actual gameplay feels pretty standard. Bugs runs through relatively large 3D worlds, all while collecting items, overcoming obstacles etc. Perhaps most interestingly, the worlds feature relatively little enemy combat. Rather, the player spends the most time simply hunting down objects. Bugs does not officially finish a level until he discovers every item, and some reside in deeply hidden areas. As such, some worlds demand a great deal of time to complete, even if the actual obstacles in the level present little challenge. Also, due to unlimited continues, the player cannot actually die and end the game. Thus, players of any skill level can try and ultimately complete Bugs Bunny.
Whether or not Bugs Bunny warrants a purchase primarily depends on how much, if at all, 3D games feel stale to the player. Those who already own Blasto, Gex 2 or 3, Ape Escape, Spyro etc. will not discover anything terribly new or noteworthy in Bugs Bunny's game. In terms of overall quality, Bugs ranks right in the middle of the pack.
-- Rachel Lewis
