Tom and Jerry in Fists of Furry

Pumpkins, horse shoes and rolled-up newspapers are flying in the N64's zaniest 3D fighter.

"Fists of Furry"'s madcap fun perfectly captures the anarchic spirit of those classic T&J shorts from the '50s, and is as far from the typically somber tournament fighter as Jim Carrey is from Marilyn Manson.

Cute Mayhem

Instead of lava-filled castles and icy wastelands, the brawling takes place in suburban backyards and quaint kitchens. Instead of gruesome finishers, characters bop each other with deck chairs and candy canes. Instead of sepulchral voice-overs that sound like they were recorded in a medieval dungeon, "Fists of Furry" is filled with the barks, squeaks and yaps of your favorite household pets.

While far from the deepest game ever made, "Fists of Furry" delivers plenty of challenge even to jaded vets of the fighting genre. Randomly appearing items can be either thrown or wielded like clubs. Hurled items can be caught by pressing a C button at the right instant.

Battered belligerents cough up health units, which can be grabbed by either fighter. The environments are richly interactive, with breakaway walls, falling items and randomly flaring stove burners and steam vents.

Feudin' Fauna

"Fists of Furry" features six furred and one feathered fighters:

Tom
Jerry
Spike, a large dog
Tike, a little dog
Duckling
Tuffy, a mouse
Butch, a cat

In general, the game emphasizes speed over pure power. While toe-to-toe slugging is a good way to finish off an adversary, a winning strategy calls for lots of running around to grab weapons, pick up health units and evade attacks. Hence the advantage lies with the smaller and quicker characters: Jerry, Tike, Duckling and Tuffy.

In poorly designed 3D fighters, the camera frequently zooms way out to keep track of both combatants. In "Fists of Furry"'s compact arenas, though, the camera never roams too far from the fast and furry-ous action. Fighters can scamper up stairs, countertops and other raised surfaces, but, in true Tom and Jerry spirit, they can never get out of range of a well-aimed paint can.

The big-band sound track is terrific, full of blaring horns that make the typical synthesizer-driven score sound anemic. Adding to the fun are the zany sound affects whenever a character gets bonked with a big item.

"Fists of Furry" offers three difficulty levels. You can handicap two-player matches by adjusting each fighter's power.

Tom and Jerry in "Fists of Furry" is in stores now.

Source:

www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64