Every so often, someone who isn't Australian thinks it will be a wildly hilarious idea to make a movie set in Australia. What follows is usually a cringe-inducing parade of overdone accents and kangaroo clich's, that the target audience usually finds trite and actual Australians hate. But once in awhile, us Aussies make a movie about Australia that's actually half decent, which also manages to find some success overseas. Now we can safely state that we're expanding our horizons into videogames, and results are you beaut!

Queensland-based Krome Studios have been quietly working away over the last few years on their own character, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. The name might be familiar to you; his first excursion was a cross-platform-platformer, which, despite some positive reviews, never really hit the headlines with a furry orange splash like they hoped. Undeterred, they set about refining their formula and bringing us an all-new alliterative adventure: Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue. Try saying that fast ten times, or, if you'd prefer, read on to find out whether Ty is destined for bigger things than extinction.

Ty's latest adventure revolves around the establishment of the new Bush Rescue squad, whose members work tirelessly to protect and help out folks in Burramudgee and the surrounding areas. This makes Ty 2 a little different to your usual platformer which has a fairly linear progression, because Ty is free to wander around town or hop in the Fourbie and hit the off-roads and freeways in search of adventure. It's a pretty cool feature to be able to go from the rainforest to the desert by actually driving yourself, and the scenery as you barrel along in your 4x4 is part of Ty 2's charm. Expect to see some wonderfully Australian 'Big' things, like Big Shrimps and the 2nd Biggest Meat Pie. This is a wonderful touch, but it would've been nice to see a bit more traffic on the roads and- for a touch of realism- some koala cops hiding behind trees waiting to nab you for speeding.

At any rate, Ty will spend a lot of his time traveling around on various missions and errands. Some are basic Aussie Post missions (none of this 'FedEx' business thanks!), delivering items and even meals to different characters, but most of his missions involve rescuing people. All told there is just shy of 45 missions in the game, although not all of them are essential and some are even hidden tasks. These usually involve spotting someone while you are walking around, but you'll need to do them all to score 100%

And to achieve this lofty perfect completion, you will need to engage in the purist's platforming pass-time: collecting things. While there is less than the original Ty game, Ty 2 features half a dozen things you need to collect, but these aren't the usual pick-ups you find in such games. There's an elusive Bunyip on the run from who-knows what, some near-extinct Bilbies always on the brink of calamitous circumstances, and frill-neck lizard spies dressed as koalas. It certainly makes things a little more interesting, and this time around the primary collectible- opals- are actually currency in game, which allow Ty to buy all manner of goodies.

These goodies consist mainly of new 'rangs, of which there are around 20 different types. Ty starts with a basic boomerang, but you'll soon require the service of frostyrangs, x-rangs, lasharangs and omegarangs. It's very Australian, and it's nice to not have to bum-bash enemies to succeed in life. There's no double-jump either, which feels like a radical departure from what is fast becoming the norm for platform games.

Ty can also buy licenses to various vehicles within the game. These range from submarines and helicopters through to the very cool Battle Bunyips, which are basically giant mechs with which to wreak havoc, and also help people. Strange but true. They're a lot of fun though, even if they are a little incongruous.

You won't really notice too much though, because the Battle Bunyips look fantastic, and if they haven't started doing so already, the guys at Krome should be working on a dedicated mech game! The whole game is gorgeous though, filled with vivid colours and interesting sights. It's as if you were dropped into a living, breathing cartoon version of regional Australia. The characters and locations are sharp and attractive, and the framerate never suffers. The trade-off comes in the form of scenery pop-up, which is quite awful while driving, but less noticeable while on foot. The camera can be a bit of a pest indoors, but unlike most games, Ty 2 has a lot of flexibility with the camera, allowing you to set your own position, controls and distance from Ty.

Ty 2's audio is an all-Aussie affair, with fair-dinkum Australian voice-actors and a perfectly suited soundtrack. There's a few recognisable voices in the mix too like Kym Wilson, and all the cast are spot on. There are noticeable nods to Australiana, with characters sounding suspiciously like Kath & Kim as well as Blue Heelers and the like, and while it may sound like a novelty, it actually works really well. The ambient sounds are wonderful as well- it's as if Krome just opened the fly-screen door on the back of the Queensland room and sampled the sounds of the bush as they happened. It's hard to explain just how great a feeling it is to be able to relate to the background noise so much in a game, and it really makes Ty 2 feel like home. Likewise the music has an Aussie taste to it, without relying too heavily on didgeridoos to create a sense of place. It's easy-listening and fairly laid back, although it ups the tempo during boss battles and the like. But overall, Ty 2 is an aural opus for Aussie ears, and does more to say 'Australia' than any dumb clich' and fake accent ever will.

After all this positive prattle, you're probably thinking there has to be a catch, and there is. Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue is a pretty short game. Admittedly it is aimed at a younger audience, but just under 12 hours playtime will win the game and garner you a 75% completion rate. Obviously you can milk a few more hours out of the game by trying to get a perfect score, but the chances are you won't really bother. The actual game is quite easy too, with unlimited lives and generous respawns- especially for boss battles, which will put you back in almost the same spot with full health again.

However, Ty 2 does come with a full-fledged cart racing game that is playable with friends outside of the main game. The controls are a bit stiff and the courses a little small, but considering some titles do just the racing, it's a pretty admirable inclusion for a one-player platform game. And with a bit of luck, it'll be enough to encourage you to dust of your copy of Ty 2 every once in awhile, which is bloody grouse!

Parental Perspective: If you're vainly hunting for a game that isn't offensive and is harmless for your kids to play, which is also funny and entertaining, you won't do much better than Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2. Krome Studios have created a fun and engaging story and game-world with bright, amusing characters who are memorable even after the disc has left your Xbox. The levels are wonderful and full of places to explore, and while there are a few tricky puzzles, there isn't anything that will cause too many problems. The inclusion of the cart racing mode is great too, as you can always pop Ty 2 back in and have a few races. With a Ty cartoon series on the way, it's clear that he is here to stay, so why not get in early and pick up the game in advance this Christmas!