A Bug's Life

Pixar's display CGI mastery made for a worthy couple of hours spent at the cinema, but how does the scaled-down version stack up? Better than you would think, although that doesn't guarantee a stellar gameplay experience. Handheld conversions of popular movies typically end up being pretty boring, and, while not reaching yawn-inducing limits, A Bug's Life doesn't prove to be that different from the rest. The storyline, of course, follows that of the Disney movie pretty closely. The evil Hopper is terrorizing a peaceful colony of ants, so worker ant Flik sets off to find some warriors to combat these bullies. How does THQ translate the ensuing comedy and excitement to the Game Boy? By making a side-scrolling platformer, of course. What were you expecting - Half-Life? Stages are based on key moments from the movie, including Princess Dot's rescue, wandering around the city, and the final battle with Hopper himself, all of which are guaranteed to drive hard-core Bug's Life fans into a frenzy... if there are any, that is. Using the Color hardware, A Bug's Life looks pretty good. It's not up to Super Mario Bros. DX's level of vibrancy, but it does the job. Backgrounds can get pretty drab and repetitive, though this may be the only way Tiertex has managed to make the levels so huge. Flik himself animates in an above average way and still manages to look like a bug-eyed version of Dave Foley. With the exception of Dim, the educationally impaired rhino, other characters are annoyingly small and badly visualized. The best treats for your eyeballs come in the form of the bridging cinema scenes, which use the movie's rendered style quite well. On a standard Game Boy or even a Super Game Boy, however, these screens lack flair and animation. Gameplay-wise, there's little to mention while remaining positive. We can handle a game being extremely simple if it's meant for younger players, but not when the controls are as fiddly and cumbersome as this. Some leaps require dumb luck to be made, rather than player skill. Berries used for ammunition can also hurt you, depending on what speed their traveling. If that sounds stupid to you, that's because it is. On the plus side, the design occasionally strays from the side-scrolling formula, with harvesting and flying levels to cherish and enjoy for all eternity or until the batteries run out. There's nothing really wrong with A Bug's Life, but the whole game never really manages to become anything more than eventually forgettable.--Cameron Davis--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Straight from the hit Disney computer-animated movie, A Bug’s Life comes A bug’s Life the game for your Game Boy Color. Play as the young ant Flik as he races through nine levels of varied action in his quest to save his ant colony from the cruel Hopper and his gang of grasshoppers. Hopper is bent on stealing all of the ants' food and destroying the colony. Fortunately, Flik is creative and has a few plans to help his friends. Unfortunately, he's also very accident-prone, so not all of his plans work out. Play through the levels collecting parts to assemble his inventions while avoiding enemies and natural obstacles. Grasshoppers aren't the only bugs out to stop Flik, as he will also encounter bees, worms, wasps, and others. His only defenses against these nasty bugs are his throwing arm and a limited supply of berries. Never fear though, because scattered throughout the levels are more berries of the throwing variety and the health-giving variety. Just when things look their darkest, Flik can count on his insect friends to make the save! You've tried real-life; now try living A Bug’s Life.