The Weekly WTF: ‘Tokyo Jungle’

‘Grand Theft Auto with lions,' you say? Eff it, I'm sold already.

Tokyo Jungle is one of those bizarre gaming concepts you'd usually expect of small indie developers. The kind of guys who aren't under the pressure of big game-makers, and can afford to take risks and dick around with things. Super-Budget Space Shootin' Guntacular 340098: This Time, It's Shootier (And Spacier), this is not. We're thinking outside the box, right here.

But screw it. Sometimes, you just want to let loose. Sometimes, Sony wants to embark on a PS3 exclusive joint venture with developer Crispy's, and some crazy shit goes down. Buckle up, gentlemen, and we'll take a look.

Tokyo Jungle hit the console in 2012. The setup is just like I Am Legend, minus Will Smith and the creeptacular not-zombie things that want to chew on your scrote. Humanity is entirely extinct here, leaving animals of all shapes and sizes to wander the streets of a futuristic Tokyo.

Through the course of the story, you'll take control of everything from a pomeranian to a lion. Each have their own objectives and missions to complete, all of which form part of the whole plot. It's a hairier, toothier Quantum Leap, in short, and that's not something you can pass up. But anywho, the general point of all this weirdness is for each species to simply survive,figuring out what the hell has happened to humanity as you go.

But hell, who has time for plotting and stories and all that business? Not me, that's for damn sure. On to the real selling point of Tokyo Jungle: ‘...you can set a giraffe on a bear,' quoth Eurogamer. Yep, if you remember those conversations at recess about which animal could kick which animal's ass, this game has all the answers.

Main story aside, your other play option is survival. Here, you choose from one of 50+ species on offer and have to stay alive as long as you can by bringing the fight to every other damn creature. Herbivores and such have an easier time forming groups, so they can still hold their own against bigger, angrier mofos.

 It's all just completely crazy-ass. It's hard to say whether it's a joke or not, but it was surprisingly well-received and is pretty damn good. Not many games will let you lead an unruly band of animals around the streets The Warriors style, or buy a kangaroo and a Peking Man as DLC, but this one sure does.