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Boom Blox
30.04.08
A big name in small letters. It actually says Steven Spielberg on the box of Boom Blox, and therefore raises high expectations. What could it be, this Boom Blox? A new adventure of the archaeologist with the slouch hat on the quest of the holy block? A drama about a small, angular alien who wants to phone home? A space opera about a caste planet, supposed to be destroyed by a cube of death? Nothing of the kind, Boom Blox is a puzzle game somewhere between Jenga and shooting gallery. Why this actually quite attractive combination boasts the name of this great director is a mystery to me.
Everybody knows the principle of building blocks from Kindergarten on: building blocks form a tower which is to be dismantled . Depending on the mission, several options are up for choice. Usually you have to throw a projectile at the right place of the stack to help gravity along a bit. Aiming is very easy and works quite easily. Simply aim with the Wiimote, lock on the point with the A button and then swing the Wiimote – and the projectile and the target collide. If you choose the weak point of the object correctly, all the blocks collapse to the ground and you collect loads of points. Depending on your skill and precision of throws, you receive gold, silver or bronze medals and activate various bonuses.
There are further missions apart from this basic principle, which offer a little variation. A castle must be defended using a bombardment, as many bombs as possible have to be hurled at the attackers without doing too much damage to your own buildings. The same has to happen during the escorting, however, when a bomb is hastily misplaced, your own team goes entirely up in smoke. Luck plays a much bigger role here than in the other game types.
In addition, there are levels that remind us of the well known Jenga game. The right blocks have to be pulled out of a construction that is alreay wobbly in the first place. If the wrong ones fall down, points are deducted. Of course there are special blocks which help to accomplish tricky tasks; among them are explosive cubes or blocks that react with other same-colour blocks to subsequently explode magnificently,. Especially the adventure mode is a lot of fun in the beginning when you have identified the weak point of a construction and send it down with a well-aimed throw.
Once you have successfully finished certain sections in the adventure mode, you can also tackle it as a pair – not understandable why this was not possible earlier. Nor why there is an explorer mode beside the adventure mode, which basically offers a few levels more, but is generally based on the same principle. The childish presentation with angular animals indicates the level of difficulty, because especially in the early missions it is not very demanding, only towards the end does it get a little hairy and you have to use your head a bit more.
Anyone who feels like it, can play constructor and build his/her own block towers. With the easily understandable editor one’s own kindergarten fantasies can be built up, only to be gleefully smashed in by your friends. A nice gimmick, mainly because the single player mode offers little of substance. In the multiplayer mode even four players can take part as demolition experts. The mini games are convincing, they are more than just accessories and can keep a party going on their own.
MK
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