Monsters, Inc. Scream Team

Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (released as Monsters, Inc. Scare Island in Europe and on PC in the United States) is a 2001 platform game developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 and Disney Interactive for Microsoft Windows. The game is based on the 2001 film Monsters, Inc.. In 2011, the game was made available on the PlayStation Store.

Monsters, Inc. Scream Team
North American PlayStation cover art
Developer(s)	Artificial Mind and Movement
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment (PlayStation, PlayStation 2) Disney Interactive (Microsoft Windows)
Producer(s)	Martin Rhéaume
Designer(s)	David García
Programmer(s)	Stéphane Leblanc Martin Ross Saray Pech
Artist(s)	Avi Winkler
Series	Monsters, Inc.
Engine	RenderWare (PlayStation 2)
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2
Release	PlayStation NA: October 30, 2001 EU: February 1, 2002 Microsoft Windows NA: November 2, 2001 EU: January 25, 2002 PlayStation 2 EU: February 1, 2002
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gameplay

The game begins with an orientation program hosted by Roz, who shows the monsters the basics of their training. The levels are divided among three training grounds located on Scare Island. With names hinting at the nature of their design, the Urban Training Grounds, Desert Training Grounds and Arctic Training Grounds contain four areas to be explored. Each region ranges in scenery from a city park to a frozen lake, and players can choose to play as either Sulley or Mike, with each monster having different moves and scare abilities. Each level's loading screen features a picture of either Mike or Sulley to show who is recommended for the level.

The objective of the game is to successfully scare all the robot children (known as "Nerves") on the island and graduate from monster training with top honors. This is accomplished by collecting bronze, silver and gold medals that are awarded throughout the game. The bronze medal is required to complete a level and can be obtained by scaring five Nerves; this also unlocks a short clip from the movie. A silver medal can be obtained by finding and collecting 10 "Monsters, Inc." Tokens scattered through a level. A gold medal can be obtained by scaring all eight Nerves in a level. Obtaining the four bronze medals in each training ground unlocks a hidden item that may help the player reach previously unreachable areas. There are also races with Randall Boggs, which when won, also unlocks a short clip from the movie.

Items used include Extra Try Tokens (which give extra lives to the player), Monsters, Inc. Tokens (which earn silver medals for every ten collected) and Primordial Ooze (the substance that gives the monsters their scare power). The random Bag O' Calories increases health, while mailboxes provide tips and information to assist the player. Nerves and items may be hidden, but can be discovered by searching in and around boxes and other objects.^[1]

Plot

Mike and Sulley are hand-picked by Waternoose to go to Waternoose's private training facility, Scare Island, in order to train to become top scarers. Scaring human children serves the purpose of generating energy for the monsters' society. As explored in the movie, human children are believed to be highly dangerous, even toxic, to monsters. This is the cause for the game's setting being a simulation.

Release

Information about the game was first released in August 2001 on the gaming website GameSpot.^[2]

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
	PC	PS	PS2
Metacritic	N/A	65/100[3]	N/A

Review scores

Publication	Score
	PC	PS	PS2
4Players	N/A	N/A	67%[4]
AllGame	[5]	[6]	N/A
Game Informer	N/A	5/10[7]	N/A
GameRevolution	N/A	C[8]	N/A
GameSpot	N/A	5.4/10[9]	N/A
GameZone	N/A	9/10[10]	N/A
IGN	N/A	7.5/10[1]	N/A
Jeuxvideo.com	N/A	12/20[11]	12/20[12]
MeriStation	6/10[13]	7.5/10[14]	5/10[15]
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine	N/A	[16]	N/A

Reception

According to Metacritic, the PlayStation version received "mixed" reviews.^[3]

References

1. Fujita, Mark (November 7, 2001). "Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
2. Ahmed, Shahed (August 27, 2001). "First look: Monsters Inc". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 20, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
3. "Monsters, Inc. Scream Team for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
4. Bischoff, Jens (March 3, 2002). "Test: Die Monster AG - Schreckens-Insel (PS2)". 4Players (in German). 4Players GmbH. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
5. Woods, Nick. "Monsters, Inc.: Scare Island - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
6. Beam, Jennifer. "Monsters, Inc.: Scream Team (PS) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014.
7. "Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (PS)". Game Informer. No. 103. FuncoLand. November 2001. p. 123.
8. Liu, Johnny (November 2001). "Monsters Inc.: Scream Team [sic] Review (PS)". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
9. Davis, Ryan (February 5, 2002). "Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Review (PS) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on March 13, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
10. Wiley, Patricia (November 8, 2001). "Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Members Only [sic] Review - PlayStation". GameZone. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
11. pilou (March 13, 2002). "Test: Monstres Et Cie : L'Ile De L'Epouvante (PS1)". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
12. Jihem (March 4, 2002). "Test: Monsters Inc [sic] (PS2)". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
13. Perello, Thierry (April 26, 2002). "Monstruos S.A.: La Isla de los Sustos: ¡Qué susto! (PC) [date mislabeled as March 3, 2012]". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
14. Mosteiro, Iago (February 14, 2002). "Monstruos S.A.: La Isla de los Sustos: Los últimos coletazos de PSOne dan "SUSTOS" (PS) [date mislabeled as December 7, 2011]". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
15. García, Daniel Delgado (February 14, 2002). "Monstruos S.A.: La Isla de los Sustos: Un juego para asustar y ser asustado. (PS2) [date mislabeled as March 12, 2012]". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
16. Baker, Chris (December 2001). "Monsters Inc. [Scream Team]". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 51. Ziff Davis. p. 172. Retrieved November 13, 2022.

External links

• Monsters, Inc. Scream Team at MobyGames
• Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (PlayStation) can be played for free in a browser on the Internet Archive