Game Review: Boom Blox 8 / 10.

Surprise! Surprise! Mr. Spielberg has another hit on his hands, but no I’m not talking about the next Indana Jones movie, I’m blabbering about the Nintendo Wii game called Boom Blox! Steven Spielberg involved in video game development!?!? I know, sounds cool, and it is! He has signed a three game development deal with EA and the first fruits of this creative clash is Boom Blox. The idea for the addictive, and easy to play game, apparently originated from Spielberg’s childhood with his love for destroying his toys. Now who hasn’t done that… and found it fun?!? Well that fun was expertly transferred to this game through simple actions that make game play a breeze.

The game is a cross between Jenga, Tetris and demolishing buildings and is generally set around a structure of several blocks, from a dozen to a hundreds, that the player must interact with in some way. The aforementioned blowing up is one such activity, but the (over 300) levels of single player “story mode” allow for many various ways of engaging the blocks and accomplishing missions. Actions such as pulling, pushing, removing, throwing, exploding, grabbing, flinging, sliding, pounding, spraying are all possible with a cache of accessories including a baseball, a bowling ball, a bomb ball, a fire hose, etc. Too many to name here but suffice to say the game play is solid. The blocks also come in about 20 different types that all have a unique functionality. Bomb blocks (explode when thrown at, knocking things in every direction), vanish blocks (disappear when touched) and chemical blocks (explode when touched by another chemical block) are just a few of the unique block type that vary game play and your strategy to completing a level greatly.

The unique use of the Wii remotes’ motion capture makes throwing stuff at these structures all the more realistic as the force of your throw is reflected in the realistic and complex physics engine the game is built on. If you need to gently tap a block out from between two others, light throws will do the trick. If you need to launch a block 50 feet into a pyramid of bonus point blocks, well a good hard throw with an appropriate angle of impact, will get you there. But don’t be put off by angles and calculations and such. The simple point, click and throw game controls are a breeze to learn and soon you will be a master. Trial and error is key on more difficult throws, but that’s OK right?!?!! You want a freakin’ challenge!

Each block in the structure moves independently and can affect other blocks on the play field. Block weight also comes into consideration as blocks stacked low in the structure are near impossible to move unless some of the weight of the top layers has been removed. It’s impressive to see a 300 block tower collapse after a well placed throw to it’s base, then seeing all those bonus points fly up the screen!

Where the games really impresses and ‘takes off’ is the wildly fun multi-player mode. It’s pretty big and I haven’t explored all of it yet, but it’s a great party (dare I say drinking???) game. The agonizing reality of a missed shot, which allows your opponents (up to 4 players) to topple the tower and collect all the points, is heart felt as all your hard work in weakening the tower is lost! But revenge can be yours with the built in level editor! You can create your own new levels and exchange them with other Boom Blox owners. As you progress through the single player game, you unlock more and more resources for the level editor. Already you can find videos of Boom Blox Rube Goldberg machines on the net, some of which are really something to see!

I would call this first game from EA and Spielberg a success and I will enjoy it for a long time coming. It was a most unexpected birthday gift from my brother-in-law. So I guess I owe him thanks for opening my eyes to this engaging game. Because a great game is always more than just great graphics! Don’t you forget it!