Cheap Disney's Classic Action Game Collection (Software) (Windows 95, Windows 98) Price

Tarzan is the darkest game of the bunch, as well as the best graphically. Drums throb and baboons chatter through 13 levels as Tarzan grows from a boy to a man. In later levels, the player can assume the identities of other characters from the movie. Players swing from vines, use pronghorn antelopes as trampolines, and fly aboard storks. The action is fluid enough that these tasks are a pleasure, though the timing on the vine release does take some getting used to. Tarzan initially dispatches enemies by hurling fruit. Later, knife-and-spear play enter into the game. Disney attempts to counter this violence with fantasy: defeated enemies burst into a cloud of butterflies instead of realistically keeling over.

The weakest game here is the one based on the movie Toy Story. Players assume the identity of the gangly cowboy Woody, rescuing good toys and fighting bad ones in a world that's as flat as an Etch A Sketch drawing. Tasks are assigned on each level by, yes, an Etch A Sketch, which redeems this game somewhat since kids must read directions, then memorize and carry out the orders. But expect frustration when Woody can't accomplish a simple room-cleaning assignment in the allotted time because a chair is in his way and he's designed to need 50 tries to hop onto and over it. The Toy Story game is the one to install if you're tight on disk space, since it only requires 8 MB to run--compare that to Tarzan's requirement of 50 MB and A Bug's Life's 35 MB requirement and it's easy to understand why Toy Story feels awkward.

The game based on A Bug's Life has some pastoral charm as Flik the ant trots around a three-dimensional world on a quest that's similar to his silver screen goal of saving the queen. During an animated tutorial, a wise old ant teaches players about throwing fruit, "abdomen bounces," useful berries, transforming seeds, and other arcane facts of ant life necessary to enjoy the 15 levels of this complex game. Optional puzzles and hidden passages allow players to take a break from the task-oriented work of getting through the levels. The only real downside to A Bug's Life is that the point of view, or "camera," has a tendency to swoop and dive to distraction. You'll need to use that camera lock key frequently if you want to survive with your equilibrium intact. (Rated E for Everyone) --Anne Erickson