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Taz: Wanted

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Taz: Wanted
PAL region Xbox cover art
PAL region Xbox cover art
Developer(s)Blitz Games
Publisher(s)Infogrames
Platform(s)GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC
Release
September 17, 2002
  • PlayStation 2
    Xbox
    Windows
    GameCube
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Taz: Wanted is an action-adventure video game released in 2002 by Blitz Games. The game is based on the Looney Tunes' character, Tasmanian Devil.

Plot

It begins with Taz and She-Devil enjoying romantically at Taz Island. Suddenly, the two are captured by Yosemite Sam and the two are held captive in Sam's Zoo. Then, Sam tells Taz that in order to rescue She-Devil, he has to go to Gladiatoons. After Taz destroys the cage, Sam makes an escape. After escaping, Sam puts wanted posters of Taz. Now, Taz has to get out of the zoo. After acquiring a snowblower, an inflatable life-raft, and an elephant, Taz manages to escape, and confronts Gossamer in a game of Elephant Pong. After winning the game, he follows Sam into the city. After gaining access to a hot dog sausage, a giant, neon shopping trolley and a cement mixer, he heads straight for the Gladiatoon match. After beating out Daffy Duck, Taz is not reunited with his love but is transported to the Old West where he must get a mine cart and a boulder to access the next boss, where Sam blows up an explosives cache that the two were just battling in. The explosions are so great that they hurl Taz into outer space, before he lands back on his island, only to discover that Sam is trying to build a theme park there. Later, Taz catches up to Sam in a volcano. After trying to get rid of our hero by dipping him into the lava, he attempts to destroy the entire island, again with explosives. Following Sam's defeat, the plot takes a final anticlimactic twist, with Yosemite escaping with a jetpack. Having had enough for the moment, Taz and She-Devil are raised into Sam's blimp. However, Sam had been placed out of the picture, so who was controlling the craft? To our Devil's astonishment, it was Tweety's idea to construct 'Tazland A-maze-ment Park' all along; Sam being a mere puppet. The two begin to duel. The game ends with Taz activating the blimp's rear cargo door, pushing Tweety and his robot out. While She-Devil had been trying to figure out how to pilot the blimp, Taz accidentally destroys the control panel, causing the craft to crash on the island. Both emerging groggily from the wreckage, She-Devil rants and hands Taz a broom. Then he gets ticked off at what he perceives as ingratitude.

Gameplay

Taz: Wanted has four areas, the first three having the same basic blueprint. There are three levels in each area, each level having seven wanted posters of some variety that must be destroyed with some technique. Once all seven posters are destroyed, a scene will show an area of the level in which something happens that will help Taz get to the new area, such as a gate opening or something breaking. In the new area, Taz gets his hands on something and somehow manages to get it and him back to the HUB. Once the three things are acquired for the area, they can be used to enter a boss arena. The only exception for this is the level Taz: Haunted, in which nothing is brought back, and the final area, with only one level and two bosses. Once the boss is defeated Taz is either blown, shipped, or chased to the next area. To travel between areas, a misplaced door is placed in each one which transports you to Planet X with all the other doors Taz can travel through.

Characters

  • Taz - A wild, hungry, and extremely stupid predator, Taz is wanted by Yosemite Sam, who wants to use Taz as a tourist attraction. Taz is trying to rescue his beloved She-Devil.
  • Yosemite Sam - A bad-tempered and dishonest billionaire, Sam aims to capture Taz for his recently opened Taz Land theme park. He manages to capture Taz and the She-Devil, but after Taz escapes, he puts bounty on him to recapture him. Sam is finally defeated by Taz in the Disco Volcano, but it turns out he was actually working for Tweety.
  • Gossamer - A red and hairy monster, Gossamer is one of Sam's minions and the first boss of the game. He is defeated by Taz in a game of Elephant Pong, much to his humiliation. Near the end of the game, Sam accidentally dumps Gossamer into the lava in the Disco Volcano.
  • Tweety - A cute, small canary, Tweety assists Taz in finding and destroying Sam's wanted posters, despite thinking Taz is an amateur. In truth, Tweety is the mastermind behind Taz Land and used Sam as a puppet to get his way. He reveals his true intents to Taz "sooner than he expected" and fights Taz using a large robot, but is defeated.
  • Daffy Duck - A greedy and arrogant black duck and the second boss of the game, Daffy is the Grand Champion of Sam's Gladiatoons. While preparing to compete against Wile E. Coyote, Taz replaces Wile and manages to beat Daffy. Daffy doublecrosses Taz and takes the reward for himself, but is quickly pushed away by Sam (sometimes, "despicable" just doesn't quite describe it).
  • Wile E. Coyote - A super intelligent, but very unlucky coyote, Wile is set to compete against Daffy Duck in Gladiatoons before being replaced by Taz (who smashes into the arena and crushes Wile). Wile then returns to the Wile E. West to capture the Road Runner, but is crushed by Taz's train.
  • Elmer Fudd - The judge of Gladiatoons, he is constantly crushed by the contestants' pods.
  • Taz-Catchers - Armed with nets (and sometimes oversized mallets), their task is to capture Taz. $500 is taken off Taz's bounty if they succeed.
  • Guards, Workers, Tribesmen, Apes, Bears, Sharks, Monkeys and Dogs - All of these (except for the monkeys) hinder Taz's progress by trying to stop him, be it leaping on him, throwing snowballs at him or biting him. They can be temporarily disabled by using the bonuses below. Monkeys on the other hand help Taz reach high-up areas.

Places

  • Yosemite Zoo: The zoo level. It has the only (excluding Taz-Land) Taz Catcher outside a level and the only (excluding Taz-Land) phone booth outside a level. The costume is Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer.
  • Zooney Tunes: Another zoo level, this time, set up like a theme park more. This level is the first one you must go into, as the other doors are locked. Once you enter, the locks break off the other two worlds. You must retrieve an elephant from this level to play the boss level, Elephant Pong. The costume is a skater.
  • Ice Burg: The winter level or a Christmas level, with some Christmas references, such as a Christmas tree. The costume is a snowboarder.
  • Looney Lagoon: The beach level with things you'd expect to see on a beach like sharks, sand castles, and even a pirate ship. The costume is a surfer.
  • Elephant Pong: The first boss level. The boss is Gossamer from a few Looney Tunes cartoons. The name is a parody of Ping Pong.
  • Sam Fransisco: The name is a parody of San Francisco. It is a huge city with lots of buildings and of course, traffic.
  • Samsonian Museum: A museum with lots of exhibits. The costume is a ninja.
  • Looningdale's: A supercenter with all kinds of different products, especially Taz: Wanted posters. The costume is a DJ.
  • Bank of Samerica: A construction site with boards, tools and paint. The costume is an exterminator.
  • Gladiatoons: The second boss level with Daffy as the boss. This is one of the toughest boss levels in the game. In it, you have to roll a giant ball through light pods for them to change colors.
  • Wile E. West: The western part of the game with trains, cowboys, and ghost towns. The name is a parody of the Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote.
  • Granny Canyon: This level is a place with lots of cowboys and canyons. The costume is an outlaw.
  • Taz: Haunted: A ghost town level with a lot of scary stuff, even two-headed dogs! The costume is a werewolf.
  • Cartoon Strip-mine: A mine level with miners, mine carts and other stuff. The costume is Indiana Jones.
  • Dodge City: The third boss level in the game and the first one with Yosemite Sam as the boss. In it, you have to avoid all the dynamite thrown by Yosemite Sam, but you have to destroy the crates with the red X's on them plus all the ones around Yosemite Sam.
  • Taz-land-a-maze-ment park: This level is a tropical park level with fragile bridges, a minor amount of small islands, and other stuff. The costume is a Tarzan costume.
  • Disco Valcano: The fourth boss level and the second boss level with Yosemite Sam. In it, Yosemite Sam is trying to destroy Taz's home.
  • The Hindenbird: The final boss level in the game. The boss is innocent Tweety Bird. In it, you have to go through three stages. To defeat Tweety, you first have to turn off Tweety's shield (on his robot), then to stop the robot itself, then press the buttons in the right order to get rid of Tweety. The name of the level is a parody of the ship Hindenburg.
  • Planet X: From Sam Francisco onwards, going through a slightly out-of-place door will enable Taz to go back to any previous Hub he has completed or the one he is on.

Special Powers and Bonuses

  • Invisibility Potion: While under the influence of an invisibility potion, Taz can sneak past opponents and Whack-in-the-Boxes. Be careful though, it doesn't last long.
  • Super Burp Soda Can: If Taz eats one of the Super Burp Soda Cans, check for the green bubbles coming out of his mouth. Press the D key to do a mega-powerful super burp that can destroy certain things that are normally indestructible, and can defeat opponents at a distance.
  • Hiccup Soda Can: If Taz eats one of the Hiccup Soda Cans, he will start to hiccup uncontrollably for a short period of time. These can help Taz reach difficult places as the force of the hiccup propells him high into the sky.
  • Mega Hot Chili Peppers: After eating a Mega Hot Chili Pepper, pressing D will make Taz breathe a gust of fire which can destroy your surroundings and scorch your enemies.
  • Bubble Gum: By eating a piece of Bubble Gum and blowing a bubble, Taz will be able to fly for a short while. The bubble will pop by itself or when the D key is pressed.
  • Dynamite: This causes any of the above bonuses to be neutralised when eaten. Taz will also not be able to move for a few seconds - this delay can prove costly when near a Taz-Catcher or on an unstable bridge.
  • Sandwiches: All levels have sandwiches scattered around. Eating 100 of these in each level (with the exception of Tazland A-maze-ment Park) will enable a bonus game outside the level in the Hub in a blue phone booth. Completing this game will cause Sam to raise the bounty further.
  • Costumes: ACME Dial-a-Costume booths are located around each level which if entered will give Taz a costume with a special attack. Using this attack on Taz-Catchers will scare them from the level, and can also be used on other opponents and scenery.
  • Bounty: Sam raises Taz's bounty each time a poster is destroyed, the golden Sam statue is found or a mini-game completed. The higher the bounty, the more Galleries can be viewed in the main menu. Being captured by Taz-Catchers (or in the case of Taz: Haunted, statues of armour) will result in a $500 hit to Taz's bounty. The bounty varies in each level, although moving up to a more advanced Hub will reward more in its levels.

Opponents and Obstacles

  • Whack-in-the-Boxes: Their sole task is to stop Taz reaching certain areas. Invisibility potions work in sneaking Taz past, so too do blue Spin-Pads, but these Spin-Pads are best used for destroying the Whack-in-the-Boxes.
  • Gramophones: Whenever within earshot of these, Taz will be hypnotised and wander around aimlessly. They can only be destroyed by powerful explosions.
  • Taz Catchers and other opponents: As above, they try to stop Taz in his progress.
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