My Talking Tom 2 – Not Necessary, But Adorable And Acceptable

Another Talking Tom app?! It appears that this app is the official sequel to My Talking Tom, the generation of the cool cat that was released in very late 2013 [7] [8] [14]. In all honesty, I do not think that My Talking Tom 2 is highly necessary. I believe that Talking Tom 2, the interpretation of Tom that debuted in 2011 was more necessary for the sake the presenting him with a more appealing design and a few more features, such as the beginning of his comedic rivalry with Talking Ben [25] [26]. Nevertheless, witnessing a sequel that seems very unnecessary does not always mean declaring that it will be a completely terrible sequel. As someone who used to upload footage of the original Talking Tom and Talking Tom 2 onto YouTube back in high school, I am a little sad that My Talking Tom and My Talking Angela eventually had the option to record footage of gameplay and save it as a video file removed [3] [5] [15]. Despite that, I shall take a look into the high-pitched kitty’s newest home in My Talking Tom 2.

The app’s logo. [6]

 The app basically follows the same premise of looking after Tom [5] [6]. Once again, like a responsible carer, the player can:

• Pet Tom to make him purr
• Put Tom to bed (or let him drink energy potion) when he is sleepy
• Give Tom food bought from the market when he is hungry
• Let Tom do his business on the toilet
• Wash Tom with soap when he is filthy
• Dress Tom in new clothing items
• Watch Tom grow

And of course, the player can also talk into the device’s microphone and listen to Tom repeat what has been said in a high-pitched voice, which is the very thing that made Tom popular since 2010 [24]. The quality of the player’s words being repeated by Tom is brilliant, but I am sad to say that the option to record footage of Tom is not available as I cannot see a button for doing so. Oh, and he can still be beaten up with pokes. The app’s gameplay is pretty faithful to its predecessor [5] [6]. In addition to the goal of fulfilling Tom’s needs, there are also some new aspects of the casual gameplay to show the app’s purpose of being quite a refreshing sequel.

Hey little guy.  Ready to demonstrate some toilet humour later? [6]

Tom is now living in a home that consists of the new main gameplay features [6]. Tom can now be dragged across the screen, which could be especially fun to do for plenty of young tablet users. The player can put him down gently, slam him onto the ground or stick him onto the ceiling. He can also receive motivation whilst doing a few activates, such as boxing with a punching bag and bouncing on a trampoline. In the new medicine cabinet in the bathroom, there are six methods of making Tom feel better. For example, when he catches a cold, he can be given a spoonful of medical honey. I quite like how the methods of curing Tom’s illnesses enhance the realism of taking good care of a pet or small child. And speaking of the bathroom, I like how there are now seven different soaps to wash Tom with, even though four of them will cost ten coins to use and one will be free to use after an advert plays. With the same solid controls and a small variety of new features for the primary gameplay, I suppose many fans of My Talking Tom were quite impressed.

Before and after little Tommy Wommy eats a spoonful of medical honey. [6]

Aside from the solid controls, I recommended only stroking Tom’s belly when it comes to petting him as stroking his head could result in Tom being dragged in the air. [6]

Tom now has a new friend who is an orange…blob thing with mouse ears named “Squeak” [6]. Squeak can also be dragged across the screen and even squashed by the player’s fingertip. Additionally, he can eat any of Tom’s food and change colours, thus expanding on his character development. I could say that the design of the thing seems slightly unfitting within the current state of the Talking Friends IP, even though there was a menacing antagonist who was named “Jeremy the Germ” and had a similar body shape in two of the Talking Tom And Friends episodes [16] [17]. Even though Talking Hank, another dog was introduced in the first episode of the webisode series [18], I personally felt like he should have had his own app before the release of the episode to make his debut slightly more legitimate. Nonetheless, at least he eventually got his own app in early 2017 [4]. Perhaps there could be an establishment of Tom’s new pets in their own application or web series that may expand on their character developments in the future. Could Tom’s new friend be a sign of an upcoming new era of Talking Friends?

Squeak about to knock Tom’s basketball off his wardrobe in the app’s first trailer. [14]

Squeak turned red after I gave him a chili pepper in the app. [6]

Interestingly, Tom can hop into his plane to fly to a few islands that are based on the themes of the home’s unlockable interior and exterior designs that cost coins and stars [6]. The themes are:

• A casual home on a street
• An adventure beach
• A magic forest from a fairy tale
• A cyber city with futuristic aspects
• A candy kingdom

Tom can firstly travel to a tropical island and bring back any one of three bamboo boxes, containing cards for earning food, coins, stars, clothing items household items. The way certain cards can unlock the items as another way to get new furniture and clothing items for the house can prevent the player from losing a bit of patience when it comes to saving coins for a new item. However, the results seem quite random, something results in duplicates of clothing items and the random household items a starter can only receive are adventure beach items. The other three islands will be unlocked as the game progresses, which can also make the player feel rewarded for playing the app daily.

For starters, Tom can only fly to the tropical islands. [6]

An example of a uncompleted card collection. in the app [6]

Wait! There are four other pets to unlock for Tom to be friends with [6]! The player can simply tap the dens in the garden to see Squeak in a selection with a parrot named “Flip” who wears glasses, a purple beast named “Gus”, a robot named “Dot” and a pink blob with a rainbow mane and a unicorn horn and horn named “Sugar”. Looking at the icons next to their names and scrolling through the lists of cards to collect, the player will see that:

• Flip is from Adventure Beach
• Gus is from Magic Forest
• Dot is from Cyber City
• Sugar is from Candy Kingdom

Despite the pets’ shape, at least Squeak aimed to heal little Tom’s injured paw in the app’s second trailer, unlike Jeremy the Germ who made the fully-grown Tom, Angela, Ginger and Hank ill [12] [16] [17]. And yes, the other four pets can change colour when they eat food. Flip turned orange when I gave him a carrot. It would take some patience, determination and a daily routine to save enough stars for a new pet for Tom.

A yellow Squeak, a green Flip and a pink Sugar. All of the pets seem to have the same character development in the app. [6]

And of course, there is a whole new section of minigames to play as a way to increase Tom’s happiness. These new minigames in My Talking Tom 2 are:

• Cupid Tom
• Space Trails
• Pet Connect
• Easy Squeezy
• Ice Smash
• Super Balloons
• Totem Blast

After playing them all, I would say that each minigame consists of fairly simple gameplay, yet elements that make them stand out as parts of a small variety. And yes, there are icons that link the player directly to other Talking Friends apps, just like in the original My Talking Tom and My Talking Angela. Recording footage of Tom talking and getting injured for YouTube and Facebook may not be available, but providing a variety of minigames that can relieve stress and have a decent amount of challenge for younger mobile gamers once again makes the sequel faithful to what increased the appeal of Talking Tom.

Some of the minigames and links to other Talking Friends apps. [6]

Let us slightly expand on the minigames, starting with Cupid Tom. Trying to shoot a wheel with a loved one’s face on it with cupid arrows might be a more thrilling challenge in real life. Space Trails brings out a competitive vibe as it requires an internet connection for grabbing the most colourful orbs in the galaxy without bumping into other trails. I feel like Pet Connect is only a rehash of Balloon Splash from My Talking Angela and Rainbows from the original My Talking Tom. Do you wish that you had the power to shrink in order to easily squeeze through narrow spaces like one of Tom’s pet would in Easy Squeezy? I can see that the gameplay of Ice Smash requires a pinch of three-dimensional thinking for eliminating differently coloured blocks by launching blue balls from a canon in the best directions. Inflating balloons and trapping bees between them makes me feel quite…satisfied. Totem Blast is not bad, but it seems too similar to Toy Blast and Toon Blast [2] [20]. I would say that the different gameplay styles are a clear sign of a decent variety of minigames, despite how some of them are not very original.

Well, at least Cupid Tom is not a knife throwing act with Angela as the target. [6]

And at least the way one of the minigames from My Taking Tom that has been recycled is yet another sign of My Talking Tom 2 trying to be a true sequel. [6]

My Talking Tom 2 could be a sign of a new era for Outfit7, despite how rather unnecessary it seems. Little Tommy Wommy looks very cutesy wutesy in a tweaked appearance indeed [6]. Let us compare the kitten in My Talking Tom to the kitten in My Talking Tom 2. Tom in the sequel has brighter irises, a straighter nose, and smoother eyebrows [6]. I can also see that the little Tom in the sequel has a bigger head and a slightly smaller belly. I supposed the graphic designers aimed to make baby Tom cuter for a new crowd of Talking Tom players. I will also admit that the app on my iPad Air tends to be rather laggy at times, which made me speculate that the app could be a little more compatible with newer iOS devices [6]. In addition to my speculation, Sonic Dash would have low frame rate and sometimes crash on my fourth generation iPod Touch, but flow smoothly and refrain from crashing on my iPad Air [10] [11]. With altered features and possibly stronger compatibility with newer mobile devices, Tom seems ready to rock the rest of the late 2010s, along with the early 2020s.

A comparison between the Tom from My Taking Tom and the Tom from My Talking Tom 2. [5] [6]

Looks like the grey cat’s legacy is here to last, possibly for another whole decade. The new gameplay features for the not highly needed, but at least refreshing sequel to My Talking Tom can keep possibly a new line of young Tom fans on their toes. If any of the older fans of Talking Friends prefer sticking to the previous installments of the cool cat for the sake of making videos of him for YouTube, then that is absolutely fine. The Talking Friends universe sure has changed a lot, compared to how it was from 2010 to 2012. As many of us focus on the current era of Talking Friend, I believe that there will be a My Talking Angela 2 next year or two [3]. I would be up for celebrating the high-pitched kitty’s 10^th anniversary in 2020. It is crazy to see how he and his life have evolved since the days when he was just standing there in the corner of a street with long black whiskers and dull eyes. Still, it is quite a shame that we do not hear from Roby the Robot, Lila the Fairy, the Johns and the other forgotten Talking Friends anymore [19] [21] [22] [23].

Zzzzzzzzz… [6]

References:

1.    M Pro Channel. (2018). Evolution of Talking Tom Games 2010 - 2018. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QzhA-a_E1M. Last accessed 21st Nov 2018.

2.    MsLovie77. (2017). Toy blast commercial. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWFGNsDCpdU. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

3.    Outfit7. (2014). My Talking Angela. iOS. Pissouri. Cyprus.

4.    Outfit7. (2017). My Talking Hank. iOS. Pissouri. Cyprus.

5.    Outfit7. (2013). My Talking Tom. iOS. Pissouri. Cyprus.

6.    Outfit7. (2018). My Talking Tom 2. iOS. Pissouri. Cyprus.

7.    Outfit7 Limited. (2013). My Talking Tom. Available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.outfit7.mytalkingtomfree&hl=en_US. Last accessed 19th Nov 2018.

8.    Outfit7 Limited. (2018). My Talking Tom 2. Available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.outfit7.mytalkingtom2&hl=en_US. Last accessed 18th Nov 2018.

9.    Paradis, J. (2018). Toon Blast Commercial. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SGKY-YZeRU. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

10. SEGA. (2013). Sonic Dash. iOS. Tokyo, Japan.

11. Sonic News Network. (2013). Sonic Dash. Available: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Dash#Trivia. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

12. Talking Tom. (2018). Can You Handle My Talking Tom 2? NEW GAME Official Trailer #2. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmfWRVkC1eA. Last accessed 18th Nov 2018.

13. Talking Tom. (2013). My Talking Tom - Gameplay Trailer. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDBmw2H0KjI. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

14. Talking Tom. (2018). My Talking Tom 2 is here! NEW GAME Official Trailer. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gltp0iSA-60. Last accessed 18th Nov 2018.

15. Talking Tom. (2014). Videos YOU've Created - Talking Tom's User Videos Total Mashup. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1onJsSDsL5g. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

16. Talking Tom and Friends. (2015). Talking Tom and Friends - The Germinator (Season 1 Episode 15). Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxMxjPateqM. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

17. Talking Tom and Friends. (2016). Talking Tom and Friends - Germinator 2: Zombies (Season 1 Episode 39). Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uYmLsmxeM. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

18. Talking Tom and Friends. (2014). Talking Tom and Friends - The audition (Season 1 Episode 0). Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT158g2x__I. Last accessed 21st Nov 2018.

19. Talkingtomandfriends Wiki. (2017). Talking Friends. Available: http://talkingtomandfriends.wikia.com/wiki/Talking_Friends. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

20. Toon Blast. (2018). Toon Blast | Ryan Reynolds - Girl. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lybl9fDpQM0. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

21. TotallyLisaCartoons. (2011). Talking Bacteria John, John & John - Creepy Scream. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzTo2SRO7M4. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

22. TotallyLisaCartoons. (2011). Talking Lila sings and creates magic. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VGDAosrBSo. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

23. TotallyLisaCartoons. (2010). Talking Roby the Robot dancing. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v_Wt0jZ3ag. Last accessed 20th Nov 2018.

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25. TotallyLisaCartoons. (2011). Talking Tom 2 - The Pizza, Pizza Salad. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0QhAu-SsYY. Last accessed 18th Nov 2018.

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Bubsy Will Strike Back With His Paws On Fire

I never hated Bubsy the Bobcat, the furry fella created by Michael Berlyn who just loves to talk and believes he can be a hero [7] [10] [12] [13] [18], despite the backlash he received throughout the years [2] [15] [16] [17]. Of course, who can forget the overwhelmingly negative reception of Bubsy 3D back in 1996 and so on [2] [4]? When Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back was announced as another side-scroller back in June 2017, not many video gamers and game journalists seemed too delighted about it [12]. With his self-awareness and determination to become relevant again in The Woolies Strike Back, we can say that he was trying so hard to relive the days of his classic side-scrolling and became the envy of the seven deadly sins of 2017’s gaming [8] [9] [16]. At least Bubsy’s grand return featured his new and more tolerable voice, compared to his high-pitched and hyperactive bellowing from Bubsy 3D [10] [12] [13] [14]. I would honestly say Bubsy the Bobcat could be the marmite of old school gaming. You either love him or hate him. Despite this, along with the mixed to negative critical reception of his big return [8] [9] [16], the Bubster is yet to star in another instalment of his franchise that will be titled, “Bubsy: Paws On Fire” [1].

Could 2019 be the best year for the berated bobcat? [1]

Looks like a few characters from the Bubsy 2 and the Bubsy cartoon pilot that failed to impress many viewers back in 1993 shall make their big comebacks in Bubsy’s next chapter after years of absence [11] [15] [17]. Two of them have been hinted to be playable, along with a woolie who ironically seems to be on the bobcat’s side [1]. Arnold’s character development in the cartoon pilot was quite unnerving [3] [11] [15]. I just hope he will not be so paranoid about getting run over by a truck anymore since I believe the way he was in the cartoon pilot was not a considerate portrayal of anxiety, extreme paranoia, and post-traumatic stress disorder [3] [11] [15]. And yes, Virgil Reality, the same guy who created the unfashionable virtual reality helmet gets to be playable too [1] [11] [15]. Bubsy’s nephew and niece, Terrance and Teresa might not be playable, but they shall appear at the…Shoppery [1]? Really? Despite its odd name, at least the clothes shop shall offer some nice clothing items for Bubsy and the other playable characters [1]. The game’s overall plot should hopefully be more stimulating than the failed cartoon pilot for a better chance of the game being a better installment of the Bubsy franchise [11] [15] [17].

Bubsy and the three other playable characters. Nice shoes, Bubster. [1]

I think “Dorothy Purrkins” would have been a better name for the clothes shop. [1]

I quite like how the game will feature a variety of gameplay methods, as well as an increased amount of playable characters [1]. After curling up into a ball, Arnold shall roll his way through a tunnel during his gameplay sections, collecting emeralds and possibly avoiding...bags of farts [1]? Seriously?! At least the blue armadillo will be much braver and hopefully leave his fears of trucks behind [3] [11] [15]. It appears that Virgil gets to crash through layers of glass without taking damage and collect strange blue orbs that might be involved with the power of the virtual reality helmet [1]. We can tell by how his aura has the same shade of blue. Bubsy and the playable woolie will be able to shoot obstacles in a UFO in some gameplay sections [1], which makes the variety of gameplay methods seem more interesting. I also like how three jigsaw puzzle pieces and five letters that spell out the word “Bonus” can be collected in the side-scrolling sections because it can make them more rewarding and increase the gameplay’s freshness [1]. Since Bubsy will not be in his next chapter alone, the way his allies are joining him in 2019 is making the upcoming instalment seem interestingly fresh [1].

Bags of farts?! Really?! At least the third-person view for Arnold’s gameplay section shows that there shall be more than one playstyle for Bubsy’s next big step. [1]

The jigsaw puzzle pieces and letters that spell out the word “Bonus” in the side-scrolling sections can provide two more objectives that can make them more rewarding. [1]

There can be some further enhancements for the final outcome of Bubsy: Paws On Fire [1]. One of them could be a better relationship between the Bubster and the blue armadillo [11] [15]. Hopefully, Bubsy will be a better friend to Arnold during at least one cutscene, compared to how he physcially irritated him in the failed cartoon pilot [11] [15]. Speaking of one cutscene, there can perhaps be more than one to make the plot and premise stand out more, compared to how there was only one cutscene in The Woolies Strike Back [9] [16]. Furthermore, they can feature decent animation of the characters instead of just a camera zooming in and out of different parts of one image of the Bubster’s reaction to an incident [9]. The voice acting for the other characters, such as the twins could perhaps be improved as well, compared to the voice acting in the cartoon pilot [11] [15], but who knows? So far, we know that Bubsy is once again voiced by Dan Castellaneta [1] [8]. But ultimately, if none of those suggestions occur in the outcome, the gameplay still seems to be at least fairly decent and can be acceptable with bearable controls, along with non-repetitive level design [9].

I am pretty sure that Arnold needs better character development and a more tolerable friendship with Bubsy for his big comeback in 2019. [11]

The Bubsy franchise still seems quite poorly received to this day [8] [9] [16]. However, the small variety of playstyles hinted in the official teaser trailer are a few signs that Bubsy’s next step shall be quite refreshing [1], especially for those who were not familiar with him back in the days of the Super Nintendo, the SEGA Genesis, and the Atari Jaguar [5] [6] [18]. Even if he still annoys plenty of gamers with his ego, one-liners, and belief of being “The Prince of Purrsonality” [11] [18], there will at least be more effort put into the upcoming instalment than The Woolies Strike Back [1]. Quite shockingly, there will be over one hundred levels, according to the teaser’s description [1]! After its production from the developers of Runner 3, Paws On Fire shall hit the market in 2019 for the PS4, the Nintendo Switch, and any gamer’s PC [1]. What has been revealed in the teaser makes it look like a somewhat decent game, but will it turn out to be truly better than The Woolies Strike Back? Or will it be a sign that the bobcat is still just a Sonic the Hedgehog reject, according to plenty of those who remember berating him [2] [7] [16]? What could possibly go wrong?

What is this? Bubsy in a UFO too?! Well, let us wish him good luck on his upcoming chapter. [1]

References:

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4. Bubsy Bobcat Wiki. (2013). Bubsy 3D. Available: http://bubsy.wikia.com/wiki/Bubsy_3D. Last accessed 1st Nov 2018.
5. Bubsy Bobcat Wiki. (2018). Bubsy II. Available: http://bubsy.wikia.com/wiki/Bubsy_II. Last accessed 1st Nov 2018.
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