jinjermc's Full Review: Tom and Jerry: House Trap for PlayStation 1
My initial response to this game was simply disappointment: the game screen was constantly split in half; the characters, color-wise, looked like Tom and Jerry, but their 3D lines were sloppy and fuzzy; the "traps" were nothing more than objects that lacked variety, to only be used to drop, throw or fight with. Where were the mouse traps and shenanigans that the cartoon feline and rodent were known for? For that matter, where were the sound fx and Chuck Jones inspired music that became the trade mark of a Tom and Jerry cartoon? My daughter and niece, however, loved the game. Kids are so forgiving when it suits them. I decided to couch my impression of the PS1 game and waited for the true test: 2:45 pm when all of my after school Day Care kids would descend upon the new toy. It was worth the wait.
Snack was forgotten as they discovered Tom and Jerry. They screamed, they laughed, they roared, they jumped up and down. For two solid hours I had 6 girls having the time of their lives as Tom and Jerry got run over by lawn mowers and vacuums, sit glued to the t.v., and duke it out with shovels and mackerels. What I had thought stale, they saw as an absolute riot. The constant split-screen was actually beneficial: in one player or two player mode the actions of both players were always visible, and the kids never got confused by switching screen modes. ( Can you say Smurf Racer? Mario Cart? )
Tom and Jerry in House Trap is a complete success for the 7 to 10 crowd.
The directional pad and buttons work the same as in any other fighting game: the pad moves the characters in the direction you want them to go; the buttons allow you to store items, fight in hand to hand combat with the likes of brooms and rolling pins, and to throw or release whatever the cat and mouse are holding onto. On the screen there are icons representing the buttons on your controller. Whenever something is picked up (in this case, walked over) by the characters, its image will replace that of the button icons. Press the coresponding button and the item appears in the character's hand. Press the 'x' button and the item can be used: throw it, drop it, swing with it. The 'x' button is also used to set certain traps: walk by the trap, press the 'x' and it is ready to release on the next individual who walks past it. This could mean that the cat or mouse gets toasted by the stove, whacked in the head by an ironing board, slip on banana peels, freezes when the fridge opens, or gets caught dancing by the radio. At these times they are completely helpless and easy targets for abuse. True to the old myth, in this game, a cat does have nine lives, and so does the mouse. It takes nine bouts of this punishment to knock them off and win the level. Due to the two handed, hand and eye coordination needed to play this game anyone under 7 will get frustrated with it real quick because they can't make it work. It is not fun to be trying to run away from a robotic cat that deals 3 hits of damage every time it comes near you when you forgot what button will make you move!
Some major drawbacks to this game are: Saving is only available in one player mode, kids under 7 cannot operate the game easily, and the 15 levels of play are simply the addition of more rooms to chase in. Unless you want to be stuck playing in the same 5 rooms forever, play it solo first and save your progress. New items are available to fight with in the other rooms as you move along, so the kids have something to look forward to. Those under 7 will want to change the game.
Other multi-player games you might like are Crash Team Racing, Crash Bash and Frogger.
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