Gameplay
The furious fur ball picks up just about where he left off in the original game, trying to thwart Boss Cass yet again. Cass has pulled a jailbreak at Currawong, and has a new plan of action for world dominance up his grubby little sleeve. The Boss (no, not that Boss) devised a way to create fierce reptiles which are programmed to seek revenge on the rang-touting tiger who was responsible for his imprisonment. The game picks up with Ty trying feverishly to stop the jailbreak - not an easy task since the reptiles have created a swampland out of the Outback. You can probably assume that Cass doesn�t stay imprisoned; Ty�s job is to keep the evil Cass at bay, but he must go through waves upon waves of amphibious atrocities first.
Ty and compadres have grown up a bit from their last misadventures, which means a bit more action and suspense, and more variance to the gameplay this time around. Ty 2 sticks to the roots of the series (and mostly all action/platformers) by being somewhat linear during a mission, but this time around, there will be choices as to which missions that Ty and Bush Rescue (the JLA of Tasmanian mammals) take, opening up the gameplay in a GTA-like fashion. If you want to add a bit of longevity to the game, and at the same time earn some opals (used to buy weapons for Ty), then you can take part in the various side objectives that are illustrated on the map. Red stars list the parts of a level that must be completed before the story can continue. Orange and green stars show the extra missions that can be taken to gain some opals and have a bit of fun. There are also race events - yes, in perfect Mario Kart form, Ty and his buddies can rip it up on various tracks around the land. The Kart game is also available from the main menu and can be played either in a one player mode, or two players via split-screen.
Like most action/platformers, the objectives in Ty 2 mainly deal with defeating droves of enemies, only to face some sort of major boss at the level�s conclusion. Every enemy defeated will give Ty at least a handful of opals which can be used later on for valuable upgrades. The action is extremely varied this year, mainly because not all of the gameplay occurs on land. Much of the time, Ty will be navigating the watery regions of the land by swimming, or he may even take to the skies for short bursts in one of the many Bunyips (mechs) featured in the game, and for longer stints with helicopters. Vehicles of all sorts definitely play a key role in the action in Ty 2, which is no surprise with the featured kart game. Trucks, karts, cars, and many off-road vehicles can also be commandeered by the frisky feline, and don�t be surprised if you see a submergible vessel from time to time. If Ty can�t find a vehicle to his liking, he always has the option of cleaning house the old fashioned way - by foot. When on foot, Ty must rely on his dual boomerangs for protection. He can chomp into things as well with his healthy canines, but there�s limited range to his chomps. Ty�s boomerangs start off pretty weak, but the upgrades add for some interesting projectile attacks. They all have goofy names that pretty much tell gamers what they do, for instance, I�m sure you can get the gist of the Kaboomerang by its name. Some of the upgrades aren�t just for the offensive either. It may be necessary to use an upgraded boomerang to access a part of the map that seems impossible to navigate due to large chasms or physical barriers; being creative with the boomerang upgrades can allow Ty to reach just about every part of the expansive maps.
