CIS 587 Game Review Fall 2008 Michael Quist Fall 2008 Slide 1 BOOM BLOX Electronic Arts and Steven Spielberg Exclusively for Nintendo Wii Wild and action packed block busting extravaganza 50 50 puzzle and action minigame aspects Priced at 49 99 Fall 2008 Slide 2 Overview 1 Physics based game in which player stacks knocks over blows up blocks Several basic modes of play Explore puzzles Adventure story mode Create level editor Multiplayer cooperative and competitive High production value Music and sound Clean cartoon y visuals with animated clip scenes advancing the adventure mode Well written manual No apparent bugs Fall 2008 Slide 3 Overview 2 Within each level player interacts with blocks with a specific tool controlled using Nintendo Wii motion sensing remote Throwing baseballs cannonballs bombs Spraying with hoses shooting with guns Pushing and pulling with grab tool Variety of block types Exploding bomb blocks Chemical blocks that explode when they hit other chemical blocks Vanish blocks that disappear when struck etc Fall 2008 Slide 4 Overview 3 Level based gameplay Player awarded medals for completing levels in few enough throws losing few enough lives fast enough Criteria given before each level determine whether medal is bronze silver or gold Finishing levels and collecting medals unlocks new content characters tools levels Fall 2008 Slide 5 Screenshot 1 Player goal protect sheep from monkeys Vanish blocks Chemical blocks Bomb blocks Fall 2008 Slide 6 Screenshot 2 Player goal clear path from gorilla to babies Fall 2008 Slide 7 Screenshot 3 Player goal remove point blocks without dropping penalty blocks Point blocks Penalty blocks Fall 2008 Slide 8 Other play modes Multiplayer Compete or cooperate mostly turnbased with players alternating attacks on one another or manipulations of a puzzle Create Full featured level builder with ability to share created levels with others over the internet Content unlocked in single player mode available for use in Create mode Fall 2008 Slide 9 Game Review What is fun Block physics are excellent many puzzle levels are challenging and have interesting clever solutions Interface Wii remote works well for throwing balls grabbing blocks and rotating camera angles Blowing things up Creating new levels Fall 2008 Slide 10 Game Review What is not fun Some levels reduce to trial and error or just throwing hard leading to Wii elbow Wii mote control not precise enough for delicate movements can be frustrating Multiplayer is slow paced Story is laughably stupid according to at least one reviewer more charitably is intended for a young audience Can only use one tool per level seems as if combined throw shoot grab levels would allow much greater diversity Fall 2008 Slide 11 Game Review Genre comparison Puzzle minigame genre includes WarioWare Mario Party Zack Wiki Boom Blox is much better single player game than Mario Party much weaker multiplayer More solid production than WarioWare but less diverse and humor aimed at younger audience Story purely decorative and puzzles all of the same type unlike Zack Wiki Fall 2008 Slide 12 Summary Fun and cute puzzle game making good use of Wii s capabilities and with characters and visuals that will appeal to children However levels are too similar and tacked on story does little to distinguish different sections of single player quest Could be improved by introducing more advanced tools firehose etc earlier in quest and by replacing throw and throw some more levels with levels requiring more than one tool Worth purchasing at 30 or 40 but 50 is high price point for puzzle game Fall 2008 Slide 13
View Full Document
Unlocking...