Let's Have a Look at Looney Tunes Dash, Zynga's New Runner

Eh... What's up, doc? Wanna talk about Looney Tunes Dash!, do ya?

Sorry. As a long-time Looney Tunes fan I couldn't resist. But Looney Tunes Dash! is a real game - a lane-based runner from Zynga - and it's really out now. We were able to watch an extended gameplay demo, courtesy of John vanSuchtelen (General Manager) and Michael Waite (Creative Director), so here's what you can expect.

It's not an endless runner, though. Instead, you'll be progressing through several levels with a definitive beginning and end. These levels are grouped together into 'episodes' that all involve specific themes, locales, and characters. For example, you can play as Bugs Bunny as he tries to outrun Elmer Fudd in an obvious homage to the classic "Wabbit Season/Duck Season" cartoon.

There's a lot of character variety, including favorites like Bugs, Daffy, Tweetie, and the Road Runner, with even more planned for future updates. And of course, in addition to the effects of all the different power-ups like coin magnets and the like, each character has their own unique abilities to make use of. My personal favorite from what I've seen has got to be Daffy donning his Duck Dodgers outfit and blasting obstacles in his path.

Recreating the Looney Tunes feel was one of the biggest goals with Looney Tunes Dash!, and I have to say that there definitely seems to have been a lot of TLC poured into Bugs & Co. The animations are fairly reminiscent of the classic show, many of the individual personalities of the characters come through in their behaviors, and many of the voices are supplied by Jeff Bergman himself.

The levels themselves also displayed a fair bit of variety. There are branching paths in each, and some of them offer far greater rewards but also increase the risk. So not only will you have to keep an eye on the path ahead, but at times you'll need to decide how you want to progress as you try to complete a level or maximize your score. And you'll probably want to maximize your score when you can as you'll be competing with your Game Center friends' scores on each stage.

Looney Tunes Dash! is available now as a free download. And a big thank you to John vanSuchtelen and Michael Waite for letting us take a look at their game!