Lately I have been on a bit of a Wii kick. Starting with my purchase of No More Heroes. So lately I have been focusing a little more on the little Nintendo console. So looking at recent reviews I decided to give EA's Boom Blox a try as it seemed like a nice break from constant shooters and action games.
Boom Blox is a game that was designed by Steven Spielberg, which is a shock to most people because there really isn't much of a story here or really anything that needs writing. But he took more of a design position and it makes the outlook for his other EA games much more positive.
Boom Blox is a puzzle game at its heart. You will either be throwing a ball at blocks, or grabing blocks from a stack Jenga style. The better part of the two is the throwing mechanic. You have to swing the Wiimote pretty hard if you are trying to nock over a lot of the blocks in game. This is a game where wearing your Wii wrist strap is a REALLY good idea.
The throwing portion slowly introduces you to the different types of blocks in the game. There are Gem blocks (shown above) which don't do much except make sparkles when they hit the ground. There are also Bomb blocks which explode when you hit them, and Chemical blocks which explode when you knock them together. Point blocks are very prominent in the game and many of the goals are centered around them, such as trying to knock them into a multiplier zone to get points.
The throwing is great and is fun even when you are failing. This brings us to the other part of the game though, the grabbing portion. For the first couple of levels these all work OK, you aren't pressured too much and you can take your time. But quickly things such as timers are added and bring about some truly frustrating moments. I had to shut the game off at one point because of a particular puzzle that frustrated me so much.
There is a story mode, although the story is pretty rudimentary and involves the different block characters such as gorillas, sheep, dogs, etc. The characters actually add a bit of charm to game that would've been pretty sterile without them. The art style used in the game is very bright and cartoony, a huge shift away from what we have been seeing with games lately going darker. The sound is pretty good and the music is OK but it isn't anything to write home about.
The game really is great, and the visuals keep up for sure. Is is so unusual seeing a physics based game on the Wii and it seems like a huge technical achievement for the system. There is even an edit mode for making your own levels, which you can then share online. The games largest downfall are the grabbing levels, too many of them are simply too frustrating to be fun and could turn some people off from the game. Overall, this is a great effort for the Wii and shows that a "casual" game done right can be fun for everyone.
Verdict: A-
by Nicolas Perez
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