Toy Story 2: Activity Center CD-ROM

Image from Amazon.com

On November 28th, 1999, Disney Interactive released this Toy Story 2: Activity Center computer game to coincide with the film's release. I was nine years old when I received this game and, being such a huge fan of the movie, played it over and over again. I have a lot of great memories playing this game and would still recommend it to young Toy Story fans even today!

While I still have my original CD-ROM disc (in near perfect condition), I don't have it with me at school currently. With that said, a big thanks to YouTuber Brett Darien for uploading a good quality gameplay video that I was able to capture screen shots from for this post.

The game starts with a western themed sign in screen. From there, you jump right to the game's opening titles on the TV in Al's apartment where you join Woody and Buzz.

 

 The TV is used to navigate through the selection of the six included games/activities. The remote control on the bottom right hand corner is used to reset a game, quit the game, get help or to come back to this "TV Room."

The first game, Cone Chaos, is of course based on the memorable scene from the film when the toys hide under traffic cones as they cross the street to Al's Toy Barn. The object here is to cross the street without getting hit, while also avoiding obstacles like holes in the ground. There are three levels of difficulty.

Next up is Toy Shelf Showdown. I remember this being one of my favorites as a kid playing this game. The point of this one is to navigate Buzz through the toy shelves and collect the rocket ship pieces, all while avoiding Zurg's evil robot henchmen. Jumping on the balls helps you reach the higher shelves and Buzz's laser is used to temporarily disables the robots. Once the rocket ship is assembled, the game is completed and you get to watch as Buzz and Zurg have a brief confrontation (spoiler alert- Buzz always wins). Again, there are three levels of difficulty.

Critter Corral here is also a fun one. This game's easy to explain since it's ultimately just a western themed version of checkers featuring the critters from Woody's Roundrup. Here you have three levels of difficulty and the option to either play against the computer or a friend. 

This game, Luggage Lunacy (based on the epic airport climax in Toy Story 2), is also one I remembering enjoying immensely. Here you help navigate Buzz on top of the luggage in search for Woody- who's captive in Al's green suitcase. Be careful though! Some of the luggage is quite hazardous (in specific, avoid the suitcases that are over-packed and don't stand on the shipping boxes too long). "It's not suicide! It's a rescue!"

In Create a Comic Book, the sky's the limit. In this activity, you use the available backgrounds, characters, props, effects and quotations to make your own illustrated story. When you're done, you can even save it and print it! I remember spending hours playing this activity with my friends creating hilarious stories that we laughed out loud to. I'm sure kids today would get just as much of a kick out of it. 

Woody's Printing Press is not so much a game or activity so this was an area I hardly went to as a kid. Here you could pretty much just print things like postcards, greeting cards, posters and stickers featuring your favorite Toy Story 2 pals.

There we have it! The Toy Story 2: Activity Center. This is an entertaining, quality game for young kids to enjoy featuring simple yet fun activities, catchy music, good graphics and cute imagery. Even with the fact that it's 15 years old, I'd say this is a winner. If you're interested in picking this up (though be careful since it won't be compatible with most modern computers), you can pick it up on Amazon HERE.