The Xbox currently is suffering from a lack of solid platforming titles.  Sure, there are some great games out right now--but what about those of us looking for an experience to rival that of Super Mario Sunshine? Does Taz: Wanted fit the bill?  Unfortunately, it does not.  However, Taz does provide a fun diversion until some more engaging platformers arrive on Mr. Big Green N' Black.

The game starts off with a scene showing Taz annoying various Looney Tunes characters.  It isn't edited very well, and doesn't quite feel like Looney Tunes.  But soon Taz is captured by Yosemite Sam and is thrown into the Yosemite Zoo--with Sam hightailing it outta there with Taz's sweetheart, the She-Devil!  Angered, Taz breaks out of his cage.  Sam isn't very happy about this, so he sets up wanted posters for Taz all over the place.  Since Taz plans on escaping from the zoo, he must first get rid of all these wanted posters.  And that is exactly what you must do in Taz: Wanted.

Each of the levels in the game features seven posters that must be destroyed.  Some can be confuted by simply finding them and spinning into them; others are not so easy to demolish.  And this is where Taz shines: some of the ways that Taz takes out the posters are really puzzling and innovative.  For example: in one area, a wanted poster is high up in the sky on a diving board.  But even once you get up there via cannon, you're not home free.  There's a gramophone in front of the poster, and whenever Taz is close enough to it he goes into a daze and can't spin, jump, or do anything he normally can.  In order to destroy a gramophone, one must use Taz's burping ability.  After collecting a can that gave me the ability, I backed away to the edge of the diving board, out of the range of the music machine.  The burp took out the machine, and then I propelled myself into the air from the diving board and came crashing down into the poster.  Clever stuff, eh?

Taz controls like you would expect him to, a sort of slow-walking creature that can't jump very high.  However, he has a few abilities that will speed things up, one of which is his classic spin.  Whenever you hold down the B button, Taz turns into a whirling cyclone that tears up everything in it's path.  The really cool thing about this is that the physics of Taz change while you're spinning.  You go alot faster, you don't come to a stop instantly, you can slide up slanted walls, etc.  It's really cool.  Taz's other abilities aren't as great as this one.  He can  yell, but it's rather pointless as it almost never does anything.  He can also eat things up and spit them out to damage his enemies.  Although, it would have been so much better if some things actually affected Taz, like in Kirby, instead of just spitting them out.

There are some problems with the gameplay.  The camera can really get annoying at times, and while it's possible to rearrange it, that doesn't always help.  There's also these park rangers that happen to be all over the place, their only purpose being to catch you, take $500 from you, and put you in a cage that you can break out of easily.  Now, that would be fine, but these guys become annoying really quick.  Thanks to the camera, I found myself running around a corner, only to be caught by one of them that I couldn't even see.   It's much  too tricky to kill them. Even if you attack them, if they're already swinging their net to grab you--unless by some stroke of luck--you're gonna be captured.  Over and over and over again.  It becomes very frustrating at times.

Taz: Wanted features cel-shaded graphics, a common visual style for cartoony games lately.  It doesn't work half bad, giving the game a look that resembles Looney Tunes...sometimes.  At some points, the game looks nothing like one of the classic cartoons.  This would be forgivable if those areas were at least cool looking, but oftentimes I found myself lost because some places looked very similar to another.  Thankfully, there is a map, even though it only shows you where you're at and the location of the posters.  But that aside, one could say the graphics look a little better than that of a PS2 game.  The framerate is rock solid and smooth, and the animation is very nice as well.  Textures could use a bit of work, but never really become a problem.

It is unfortunate that dear old Mel Blanc passed away in 1989.  The magic behind the characters isn't quite the same as the great cartoons of the past, but that's to be expected.  The voice talents behind Taz aren't that bad--some might even mistake them for being old sound clips.  Taz's voice is probably the best, but then again, it's not exactly the most intricate either.  Things can get annoying when one always hears Sam yelling at the devil for destroying his park, so that's a bit of a downer, too.  The background music is okay, though.  It's not fantastic, but at least you won't lose your sanity listening to it.

Each stage features seven posters to find and destroy, one hundred sandwiches to collect, and a golden statue of Sam to find and destroy.  You only have to find the posters to advance in the game, but finding the sandwiches and statue unlocks secrets in the game.  There's also a multiplayer mode which can be fun for a short while, but don't expect anything deep--it feels like it was just tacked on to add a little replay value.  Overall, Taz makes for a worthwhile rent.  I don't recommend buying it unless you're a real Looney Tunes fan, since there's not much reason to play it over unless you haven't found all the extras.  As Porky Pig would say, "That's all, folks!"

Gameplay: 7.5

The control is pretty solid and there are some fun areas that make good use of the Looney Tunes license, but an annoying camera and some confusing maps tone down the fun.

Graphics: 7.0

The cel-shaded graphics try to capture the Looney Tunes spirit, but don't always seem to do such a great job.  Some of the cut-scenes aren't too pretty, either.  The graphics certainly can't compete with some other Xbox titles, but the smooth framerate and animation make things rather painless. 

Sound: 7.0

Never really catchy, but never too annoying, the game's music isn't that bad.  There's a lot of voice-acting too, for Taz, Tweety, Sam and the like--it's not Mel Blanc calibur stuff, but it's good nonetheless.

Difficulty: Medium

The game looks like it was intended, but it demands a lot of exploring and some clever puzzles here and there.  Be prepared to spend upwards of an hour on some levels.

Concept: 6.0

Taz brings very little to the platforming genre, but some of the controls--such as his spin move--seem to fit even better than that of a 3D Sonic game.  There are a few clever puzzles to be found as well, but for the most part the game just focuses on exploration.

Multiplayer: 6.8

The multiplayer mode here is pretty shallow--there are a few different modes, but a lack of options or particularly exciting gameplay make it uninteresting in a rather short amount of time.

Overall: 6.9

Taz: Wanted does little new, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun.  There are definitely flaws, but nothing that brings the game to a screeching halt.  If you're looking for a traditional platformer , by all means give it a rent.