Toon Crisis

August 22, 2006 - JayisGames

You know that dream, the one where you're walking down the streets of London listening to the frantic sounds of Gogol Bordello, when homicidal cartoons start spilling out of the scenery?

Me neither, but thanks to Toon Crisis I know how to handle myself in just such a situation. Just make a gun with your thumb and forefinger and start blasting the little baddies!

From Killer Viral comes this excellent rail shooter, an advergame for the Sony mp3 Walkman Flash—but don't let that turn you off. Each shooting stage is wonderfully integrated with video footage of London streets, with the above mentioned Gogol Bordello providing suitably manic background music. The enemy cartoons in question are also well integrated with the background scenery, moving behind and over background objects and in and out of doors and windows as they try to take you out.

The requisite elements for a great shooter are all here: good enemy variety, weapon power-ups, and a powerful boss at the end of each stage. The game was easy and fast; I managed to finish it in my first sitting, probably within 15 minutes or so, but there is a continue option built-in if you just can't hack it. You even get a downloadable prize for finishing.