Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD Byte Size Review (XSX)
Yet again I chuck on the rose-tinted glasses to revisit some good memories from the early days of the original Xbox. This time it is a bit of an obscure HD remake in the form of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Originally released in 2002 in the gaming vein of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Banjo-Kazooie, Ty definitely hit a chord with New Zealand and Australian gamers. Much of the speech and jokes are very Aussie in tone, and accent. I’m talking ‘throw a shrimp on the barbie’, ‘that’s not a knife’, ‘crikey!’ levels of Aussie-ness.
Fair Dinkum!
Following in the footsteps of those other more famous platforming heroes, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger has you in the shoes of, well, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. Armed with his trusty boomerangs, or ‘rangs as the say down under, and aided by other Aussie animals like Maurie, Dennis, and Shazza, Ty has to collect the mystical Thunder Eggs. These Eggs are needed to power the Talisman Machine. A powerful device needed to find the ancient talisman and free Ty’s family from ‘The Dreaming’. All pretty standard fare for this style of game.
Tie Me Kangaroo Down.
In typical platformer fashion you will be rewarded with upgraded abilities and different ‘rangs allowing you access to previously out of reach areas. Ty suffers from many of the problems that plagued these types of games. Dodgy cameras and questionable collision detection being the main culprits. These are by no means game breaking though. There is definitely some fun to be had here, especially for those antipodeans that can laugh at themselves. Varied levels and ease of access make it an ok little casual game.
Closing Comments.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD is a pretty average remaster of a pretty average game. It still retains its rough edges, and charm. Unfortunately it doesn’t really stand the test of time and put up against the modern equivalents like Super Lucky’s Tale, it really does show its age. The great Aussie banter between characters just isn’t enough to stop Ty drowning in a Billabong. Unfortunately this time around my rose tinted glasses might have been fogged up.
