This Friday, stroll into your local gaming emporium, slap two twenty pound notes on the counter, and walk out with a copy of Boom Blox on Wii. Unless they’re selling it a bit cheaper, in which case you should wait for your change first. Either way, you’ll probably thank me for the tip.

Boom Blox - as you probably know by now - is the brainchild of Steven Spielberg, the director turned game developer coming up with the idea after speaking to Miyamoto and playing on the Wii for the first time. It’s a puzzler where you basically have to knock things down. And knocking things down is always fun.

 

It’s not quite as straightforward as that, of course. Most levels present you with a collection of blocks, stacked up in different ways. Usually, the idea is to knock certain blocks to the floor in the least number of throws (you’re hurling a ball towards them, see). Some stages require you to pull out blocks slowly to prevent others from falling to the floor. Others charge you with whirling pickupable (well, it’s a word now) blocks to send the rest flying. Then there are the chemical-reaction blocks, the bomb blocks and the vanishing blocks. As you might well expect, the stages get ever more complicated, until you’re effectively setting off the best Domino Rally set you never had. Nailing a particularly complex puzzle with one well-placed throw - motion-controlled, natch - will make you tingle all over.

I’ve not played enough yet to review this - expect that around Friday afternoon - and I’m itching to try out the level create mode as soon as possible to see if it can live up to my now sky-high expectations. But I’m confident in Boom Blox’s quality to recommend it already. It’s accessible (its remote only controls work superbly), yet deep enough for hardcore gamers to get plenty out of it - even some of the early gold medal targets are proving surprisingly elusive. Its presentation is rudimentary, but has plenty of charm. And above all, it’s further proof that third-parties are really starting to understand the Wii and its audience. Perhaps Spielberg should give up the day job and start working on games full-time…

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 4:41 pm by Chris Schilling
Columns & Opinion, Latest Games, Previews.