Looney Tunes Dash! for iOS and Android brings back childhood memories

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by Gary Oldwood on 5 January 2015 · 7171 views

I bet all of you have enjoyed (or still do) waking up on weekends and watching your favorite Looney Tunes characters and wishing for more when the episodes were over. I belong to this category myself, and I have to admit I still enjoy it as much as ever. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz, Porky Pig etc., these characters bring back nostalgic memories and there are very few things that can make me miss my weekly doze of Looney Tunes.

As a result, I was extremely excited about the recent release of a Looney Tunes game app, because I always found it weird that an official one hasn’t been released to this point. It was a bit of a letdown though, due to the fact that it is yet another Endless Runner; we have too many of them and it’s hard to make it unique anymore. Nonetheless, the developers did try to make it stand out and hey, it’s Looney Tunes, that’s special by itself!

Introduction

Looney Tunes Dash! is an endless runner game that features our beloved Looney Tunes characters. The game is divided in zones (or episodes) and each of them has a plot. Every zone starts with a 3D cinematic that except the 3D, feels like watching a classic Looney Tunes episode. The first episode’s main character is none other than Bugs Bunny who is running to escape Elmer Fudd, in the familiar environment of the forest where Bugs lives. The second episode features another beloved pair, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, and of course it takes place in the Painted Desert. While I would love to control Wile, it makes sense that the player controls the Roadrunner.

Apart from the main characters of each episode, other characters are “guest starring” in the levels while you run and their appearance is far from helpful. For example, the Tazmanian Devil swirls out of nowhere and although he destroys obstacles in your place, he creates others, like knocking over trees that you must leap over. Then we have another guest star, Marvin the Martian who summons Instant Martians from his UFO in front of you. And of course my all-time favorite Daffy Duck shows up running ahead of you to steal your loot. But poor Daffy has hardly any luck coz if you overrun him, you can tackle him (by sliding) to take back your hard gained coins or carrots.

Gameplay

Just like most endless runner games you have to collect coins and certain amounts of them unlock skills and power ups (such as blasting through obstacles or flying like a super hero), and avoid obstacles. Looney Tunes Dash! also includes plenty of stages, and scenes that will seem really familiar to dedicated LT fans and not only. On top of that, the game offers Looney Tunes Collector’s Cards that you can then check at your Looney Tunes Bin and read information about the show on them!

Another interesting feature of Looney Tunes Dash is that the players has to complete level goals every time you play, and successfully doing that allows them to progress on the Looney Tunes map and unlock more zones. Goals include collecting a certain number of carrots, or achieve a specific score. The player also has the ability to unlock each character’s Special Ability. The levels in Looney Tunes Dash are not randomly generated (procedural) and that means two things: 1) it makes it easier to clear a level after you lose because you can memorize the level and avoid the obstacles very easily, but 2) it gets boring as it doesn’t have the surprise element anymore and you know what’s coming beforehand.

The most annoying aspect of the game though, is that if you run out of lives (a maximum of five lives), you have to wait another 15’ for ONE life to be ready. That means that if you run out of turns you’ll have to wait 15’ for the next try.

Appearance

As far as the graphics go, the game looks amazing and although I was too used to the 2D version of Looney Tunes, the 3D animations are very well made and don’t leave a lot to be desired. The music includes the nostalgic melodies of the tv series and that makes the game seem really familiar.

Epilogue

Looney Tunes Dash! has managed to bring our beloved Looney Tunes to our devices in a successful, in most parts, game. The gameplay is not confusing (it’s an endless runner after all) and it’s fun. Apart from issues like the timer and the repetitive goals, it’s an endless runner that although doesn’t add anything new to this type of game, it’s fun and will keep you busy when you’re bored or want to simply pass your time with something lighthearted especially if in the fun are included the Looney Tunes! So, if you’re not tired of endless runner games and love Looney Tunes, give this game a try.