My first ever review... on a game where you knock down blocks. Oh great. Sounds like a lot of fun. Actually, it was...
I didn't know exactly what to think of that statement.
Doesn't he make movies or something? Not games? Go figure.
But although he may be new to the gaming market, he's done a good job here. Boom Blox is one of the simplest concepts of any recent game. You have a certain number of throws. You have some blocks. And you have to knock 'em off the platform. Sounds good to me.
But no? There's more? there's items, like the heavy bowlingball and the exploding bomb balls? Cool. And there's over 300 levels, the game informs me? Well, yes, that sounds good aswell.
This review sounds very much tounge-in-cheek, but besides my apparent lack of seriousness, this really is a fun game. One of the only 'puzzle' games (Can you really call this masterpiece a puzzle game?) that I have enjoyed.
Now, the controls. They're... simple, to say the last. You move around with the nunchuck, position your throw with the wii remote pointer, press a and do a throwing movement. It's THAT simple. Yes, there are a couple of levels where you might have to drag a box or re-arrange a wall, but mostly just point and throw. Good, especially for younger players or those who find basic controls easier. Me, I'm good with multi-button pressing and all this stuff, but this game was a nice change control-wise.
The Tutorial is open when you first start, and you're kinda almost forced to play it because of the fact that everything else is locked! Don't worry, though, it's quick and you can jog straight through it. Moving on.
Explore Mode?
This is what Classic Mode was to SSBB. A nice little series of challenges to help you get used to the controls and feel of the game, and educate you on the various blox at the same time. Most are fairly simple, and you'll get a gold first time without even really thinking, but there are some trickier ones. AND if you found them all easy, there's an expert and master mode to be unlocked aswell. Good luck.
Adventure Mode...
Yes and no. Okay, we have some thought-out, complex levels which clearlytook time and effort to make. Until you smash it with a bomb ball, of course. But the story is... just childish. A beaver harvesting gold, a cow on a tower, and kittens getting lost in the woods. And they're all mde of blox. Sometimes levels get a teensy bit repetitive here, but most are so easy you'll never realise. Note the most. Some of these levels, for me, anyway. The second last one with the kittens. Nightmare. Took me about 3 hours, with 2 kittens left.
On a related topic, one thing about this game is that you never really feel stressed out when you can't do a level. Well, i mean, you might begin to, until a block cow comes onto the screen and makes you happy again.
There's even trickier challenges to be unlocked if you feel you're up to it.
And that is the adventurous modes on Boom Blox. Work over, time to have some fun. And it is exactly that. Fun. There's Party Play which brings into light this game's excellent multiplayer mode. All games, for me, seemed entertaining, except the castle keep ones. You throw a bomb at a castle. Big deal. Some of the shooting ones could have been improved, but still, excellent.
And then we get to create. Using all your favourite "characters" (characters meaning dominoes with faces drawn on), and a variety of blox, you can build your own stage, army, castle, or my favourite, nuclear war. (hehehe, just put the entire stage as Chemical Blox, leave a small gap, and stick a Bomb Block in there. Oh, the joys of destruction...
If you have a friend registered, which i didn't, because nobody i know owns this game, then you can send them your levels for them to try. Great... :)
You can also make customised Tiki Towers for a XL Jenga, or an army of dominoes, i mean, um, characters to battle it out.
All in all, this game's flaws are just overseen because of this game's entertaining levels, simplicity and because it's so damn fun.
I'll never get tired of hitting a fat sheep with a bowling ball.
So there we go, Boom Blox. An entertaining game that i'm sure everyone in your family will love. The only thing that's got me off Brawl this weekend.