If you could take a game like Medal of Honor and insert it into some sort of magical opposite machine, you might get something like the game that was announced last year, Boom Blox. A Wii-exclusive ‘creative’ puzzler isn’t exactly the answer gamers had in mind when the equation of Spielberg plus EA plus videogames came to mind. But, dear reader, it works. In fact, it works beautifully. And, gosh darn-it, it makes perfect sense.
The basic premise of Boom Blox is that you throw things to break stuff. It’s simple, and there is plenty of variation on the concept, but that’s the basic appeal. It’s been implemented very well, and the game is an example of how a title can succeed by taking one simple concept and doing it very, very well. It feels natural to aim, hold a button, throw, release and observe your handiwork. The behind-the-scenes physics might not be as complex as they could be, but the point is that it really looks natural as you destroy leaning tower after leaning tower of blocks. The end result is that the player really feels directly responsible for all the errors and successes they have in Boom Blox, and there are no moments where cracks appear to snap you out of the game (save an occasionally limiting camera).
Boom Blox: The Silence of the Lambs.
The real beauty of Boom Blox, though, is in this complete immersion within the rules of the game. There’s real strategy in where and how the player interacts with the environment, and often, the puzzles can deceive you into thinking they are much easier than they look. Indeed, there might be a real frustration factor here for many younger gamers, as Boom Blox amps up the difficulty quite quickly. Nevertheless, there’s a very solid and thankfully speedy tutorial mode that first-timers must complete which teaches and reinforces the game’s concepts thoroughly without overstaying its welcome. We said there’s variation here, and there is: there’s Jenga-like modes for getting the right blocks while avoiding others, there’s challenging puzzles involving ‘chemical’ type blocks that when touch explode, causing potential chain reactions, and there’s often a gold-medal incentive to complete a level with as few throws as possible, or as many points. These are just a selection of the variations - as players progress trickier problems and more ways to solve them are thrown (no pun intended) at the player, ensuring that boredom never takes over.
The adventure mode, on the other hand, is not so successful. The narrative itself is the most perfunctory of stories to provide context for the gameplay, but this isn’t the major problem - we all know we can skip or ignore cutscenes if we want to. The problem with adventure mode is that it eventually makes the unwelcome addition of enemies, and often allies to protect. This creates a palpable tension, and often levels become very hectic - which some players will love, but we found that it upset the game’s otherwise perfect balance between action and strategy. It also unfortunately makes the puzzles often seem harder than they actually are, and turns the affair into more of a real-time strategy inspired scenario. Nevertheless, it’s more of a game-modifier than a game-breaker, and your mileage, as they say, may vary.
The green blocks are 'chemical blocks', and will explode when they meet.
Perhaps the most inspired section of Boom Blox, however, is the game’s level creator. Like the game itself, this mode may seem basic at first, but it eventually becomes clear that players could create just about anything that takes their fancy - from pirate ship battles, to a game of checkers, to the world’s greatest domino set-up. It’s like a great, malleable, destructible set of virtual Lego, with additional blocks to unlock. Rules can even be chosen and implemented, which makes the depth of possibilities on the same level as the inbuilt single player levels - something that can’t often be said about level creators. Players can share their creations with friends over WiiConnect24, but it’s a pity that EA couldn’t, or chose not to set up a system where players could view, rate, and download other’s work, ala Halo 3 or the upcoming LittleBigPlanet. Still, we can’t wait to see some amazing creations on YouTube.
Multiplayer also gets a good run in Boom Blox to the extent where we might just have to recommend this title as one of, if not the best non-Nintendo multiplayer experience to be found on the Wii. It has a real immediacy-of-appeal value, with up to four players being able to play on the one screen in turns, or on different split screens over several different competitive and co-operative modes. Try co-operatively building or destroying structures with your family, or competitively taking turns to knock a structure over, Jenga-style. It’s telling that Spielberg explained Boom Blox by stating he wanted a game to play with his children - there’s a lot of depth and fun to be found in a multiplayer mode accessible to both seasoned gamers and first-timers.
There's boom, and there's blocks. Best title ever. Just ignore the chicken.
Talking of seasoned gamers, it’s unfortunate that the major factor stopping your Grand Theft Auto loving, ‘casual games’-bashing gamer from picking Boom Blox up is the presentation. It’s unashamedly ‘family friendly’, and while on one level this is undeniably a good thing, on another, it means the hardcore who might otherwise love the game will steer clear of it in droves. The graphics and sound in Boom Blox are nothing special, but they do the the trick well enough (some music tracks get gratingly irritating after the thirtieth play, though). It’s all very well to criticise the childish appearance of the game, but how would you present a game about throwing things from an omniscient viewpoint at block towers? To put a ‘mature’ or ‘epic’ spin on things would be grossly unfaithful to the heart of the game, and smack of a cheap attempt to appeal to the hardcore. We don’t love the presentation (in fact, the name Boom Blox smacks of an “it’s kool with a k!” mentality) , but we honestly can’t think of a better way to do it. If the hardcore can’t look past the presentation of the game, it’s simply their loss.
In hindsight, of course, that Steven Spielberg should make such an enjoyable videogame makes laughably simple sense. A lot of commentators have criticised Spielberg over the years for his obsession with family dynamics - name a Spielberg film and you can name the dysfunctional family member. Spielberg’s oeuvre is littered with lost boys - in E.T., in Jurassic Park, in Jaws, in Catch Me If You Can. Furthermore, not one of Spielberg’s child actors has put in a bad performance. Drew Barrymore. Christian Bale. Haley Joel Osment. Dakota Fanning. Let’s face it - the guy understands kids. Some of his most successful films deal with childlike wonder, excitement, and fear.
So is anyone really surprised that he can capture what pure, fun gameplay can be? Boom Blox is a game that works on one simple gameplay idea and some serious thought given to depth. If you were that kid who enjoyed building blocks as high as you could at pre-school and then fervently knocking them over again, you’ll love Boom Blox. There are no long dialogue trees, and no extensive character customization. There’s no open world environment, and certainly no leveling up. What Boom Blox does feature is simple, old-fashioned fun. And in an era where many games choke on their feature list and narrative complexity, that’s nothing to scoff at.
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