Looney Tunes: Back in Action (video game)

Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a platform game developed by Warthog Games and co-published by Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in 2003 for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. It is based on the movie of the same name by Joe Dante.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action
North American GameCube box art
Developer(s)Warthog Games
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Producer(s)Lee Clare
Tim Coupe
Designer(s)Travis Ryan
Programmer(s)Kevin Ng
Artist(s)John Clarke
Writer(s)Jay Lender
Micah Wright
Travis Ryan
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube
ReleaseGame Boy Advance
  • NA: November 11, 2003
  • PAL: January 30, 2004
PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 19, 2003
  • PAL: January 30, 2004
GameCube
  • NA: November 24, 2003
  • PAL: January 30, 2004
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot edit

The game share its plot with that of the movie. When a mystical gem called "The Blue Monkey Diamond" is stolen from Daffy Duck by the Acme Corporation, the Looney Tunes must set off on an adventure to get it back.[1]

Gameplay edit

 
Las Vegas world (GameCube)

Gameplay involves playing as Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck. Each character has their own unique special abilities and the game requires using both characters. Along the way, money is found all over the place, usually as coins and bills. Gold bars are also found but rarely. Coins are worth $5, bills are worth $50, and gold is worth $100. Some items are buried in the ground. The money is used to access any of 4 other regions in the game such as Vegas or Paris. Each character can take 3 hits. Upon the third hit, they return to the last checkpoint. There is an unlimited number of lives. Bugs Bunny has the special abilities of digging and double-jumping. Daffy Duck has the special abilities of fluttering and swimming. Bugs and Daffy must accomplish four to six challenges within each of five regions.[citation needed] The PlayStation 2 version includes bonus features such as the making of the game.

Development edit

The game was announced in January 2003, when Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Electronic Arts (through their EA Distribution subsidiary) announced a co-publishing deal for the game. It was the first video game directly published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment themselves.[2]

Reception edit

The game was met with mixed reviews upon release, except for the Game Boy Advance version, which received unfavorable reviews. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it respective scores of 49.38% and 47 out of 100 for the Game Boy Advance version;[5][8]

58.77% and 51 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[4][7] and 67.63% and 64 out of 100 for the GameCube version.[3][6] Reviewing the PS2 version for X-Play, Skyler Miller gave the game a 2 out of 5, criticising the graphics, calling them "mediocre at best". They additionally thought the camera was difficult to use and concluded that "In the end, 'Looney Tunes: Back in Action' feels like a generic platformer with Looney Tunes characters pasted on top of it. All of the irreverent one-liners in the world can't save it, and neither can half-hearted appearances by supporting characters."[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Miller, Skyler (2004-02-25). "'Looney Tunes: Back in Action' (PS2) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on 2004-03-13. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  2. ^ "Warner Bros. Consumer Products And Electronic Arts Announce Co-Publishing Agreement For Movie-Based Game "Looney Tunes: Back In Action"". Warner Bros. Burbank, CA. 21 January 2003. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for GameCube". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  4. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  5. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  6. ^ a b c "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2014-05-11. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  7. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  8. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Back in Action for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  9. ^ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 129. January 2004. p. 135.
  10. ^ Leeper, Justin (2003-12-02). "GameSpy: Looney Tunes: Back in Action (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2005-10-31. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  11. ^ Ceradsky, Tim (2003-12-07). "Looney Tunes: Back in Action - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  12. ^ The Bearer (2003-12-11). "Looney Tunes: Back in Action - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  13. ^ Harris, Craig (2003-12-03). "Looney Tunes: Back in Action (GBA)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  14. ^ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action (GC)". NGC Magazine. February 2004.
  15. ^ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action (GC)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 178. March 2004. p. 118.
  16. ^ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action (GBA)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 177. February 2004. p. 154.
  17. ^ "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. January 2004. p. 123.

External links edit