Looney Tunes: Back in Action (PlayStation 2)

In LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, Acme Co.'s CEO used the Blue Monkey Diamond to turn citizens into mischievous Munkeys. Bugs and Daffy team up to restore the Munkeys to their original state, and capture the priceless diamond.

Players solve challenges, such as rescuing 'toons from boiling cauldrons or saving the Earth from Marvin the Martian, to gain Munkeys. You can swap between Bugs and Daffy, using their special skills (Bugs can burrow underground, for example) as you explore five levels, including the Warner Brothers studio back lot, Las Vegas, Paris' Louvre, mysterious Area 52, and Africa.

Kids might be charmed playing as Bugs and Daffy and interacting with favorite Looney Tunes characters. The spirit of the original Warner Brothers' cartoons is alive here: Dialogue captures the wit of the original writing, and the Louvre level features a gallery of notable scenes from Looney Tunes classics. Unfortunately, gameplay is disappointing: Environments are nicely rendered, but lack imagination.

Some missions are over before you realize you are trying to solve them, and others simply test how fast players can push a single button. Collecting boxes of birdseed opens a challenge on each level, but it's identical every time. The camera moves too slowly and doesn't let you strategize or explore. And arriving at the final showdown requires players to solve every challenge -- if you have to unlock everything to win, there's no reason to return to the game.