Boom Blox (Wii) Review
Video game shelves are packed to the edges with irresponsibly developed games for the Wii that try to pass themselves off as ‘casual’ experiences. The sheer volume of shovelware is absolutely disgraceful and it is no wonder why gamers very cautious towards anything labelled a casual game. Boom Blox is a great game though and while it may be targeted at a casual audience and priced as a budget title it has more substantial content than plenty of full priced games on the Wii.
As the name implies Boom Blox involves blowing up blocks and knocking over towers. The game is a unique blend of physics gameplay, puzzle solving and skill with the Wii remote. There are two primary ways of interacting with the blocks, either by tossing a ball at them or grabbing them utilising the Wii remote’s unique interactivity. You will topple towers, balance sheep, blow up bombs, rescue gorillas, mine for gold, defend bases and plenty more.
To inject some meat into the simple idea of falling blocks is a myriad of different round objects that you can throw or fire at blocks. Some primary examples include a tennis ball, bowling ball, bombs, bouncing balls and a garden hose. The blocks come in different varieties from the green chemical block that explodes when it touches another chemical block to the vanish blocks that simply vanish after being touched. Occasionally wondering these levels are characters that will detonate bomb blocks, throw rocks at other characters, search for lost children, plenty more or absolutely nothing at all. Each gameplay element builds the initial concept into a full-blown video game.
The combination of goals, block types, characters and throwing objects produce originality and spice up the game by giving it a variety of puzzle opportunities. The game’s 300-something levels are divided into sets where each set (usually) has its own distinct objective. Unfortunately some ideas are slightly altered then reused. Each set of puzzles has the same goal and gradually increase in difficulty. The game opens with some basic scenarios and then ultimately opens up and brings it’s diversity to bare.
One set of puzzles tasks you with clearing a route for a gorilla to reach her children by grabbing and moving blocks out of a maze that around and blocks her path. Another is themed around gold mining; where you begin with two bomb balls to crack open a completely enclosed structure. Then through the new holes throw several bouncing balls inside trying to hit with them every block that makes up the structure. There are several really enjoyable and unique ideas but it is disappointing that some of them had to be repeated, especially the shooting galleries.
The Wii remote is the perfect soul mate for Boom Blox. The game benefits from design and controls tailor made to the Wii’s unique controller. You can adjust the camera and throw trajectory by holding B on the Wii remote or by using the thumbstick on the nunchuck. Aim your throw by pointing with the Wii remote and holding down A, then imitate a throw by flicking the remote and releasing the A button. The controls are entirely analogue so the speed of your throw will be directly translated into the game. Several levels and the create mode allow you to grab blocks and physically move them around by simply pointing at the screen and pressing A. These controls are spot on and are inviting and ideal enough to introduce newcomers to the world of video games.
Boom Blox provides a very solid multiplayer experience with a variety of options on offer for two to four players working both competitively or together as a team. A number of puzzles and games are available from some basic shooting galleries to Jenga games, takeover, fort destroying, gem defense and several ideas that are borrowed from single player. Thanks to the simple controls the game is very easy to find new players to participate and the end result is an excellent party atmosphere. Depending on your taste in games this one can be played over and over again with the right friends.
Exactly how long the game will last depends on your interests, but the game can potentially last a very long time. It is not difficult to complete 70% of the game in roughly a day’s worth of solid playing, although some of the later levels are tough. You can extend the lifespan further by playing multiplayer, perfecting each level and by mucking around in the custom mode. So while the game might initially seem short, anyone who thoroughly enjoys knocking over block towers will get significantly more life out of the game.
Boom Blox has a simple visual style that neither delights nor disappoints. The blocky appearance of the characters and simplistic backdrops work seamlessly with the game’s theme. Although it would have been be nice to see the game look better and push the Wii hardware further. The overly simple graphics still seem to cause severe slowdown though on large levels with plenty physics calculations going on. It would have been nice for some spoken dialogue in the game as well, but given the horrible children’s story that accompanies some may not have wanted to hear it anyway. The main menu music is catchy and the sound effects are sufficient enough to play their role and blend seamlessly into the action without any notice.
There are some major criticisms for Boom Blox not limited to the reuse of puzzle ideas and shooting galleries. For example before timed levels a message is displayed that literally obstructs half the screen! It is more effective to start the level immediately, inspect the puzzle and then restart it. Additionally, the use of depth perception for handling blocks is a nice addition but to pull a block towards or away from the screen roughly three feet of movement is required, which is absolutely ridiculous.
Perhaps the biggest gripe of all though is the unreliable nature of the physics engine. Once I began to make repeated attempts at puzzles to earn gold awards I noticed that the physics wouldn’t always work the same even if I had done the same throw(s). Originally this was blamed on the full analogue nature of the controls and my own inexperience, but that was until I got into the create mode. After spending hours working together long chain reactions and completing several masterpieces it was infuriating each time to find that the levels did not work the same way when reloaded or sent over the internet. Almost as if random numbers were involved. This is an absolutely terrible oversight that ruins large scale custom levels and adds some really severe repetition to the game’s single player.
Other than that one critical error though the create mode is a very robust feature. It should entertain creative types for hours on end. While some gamers prefer the guidance from solving puzzles and unlocking items others can be engulfed by freedom and fun of the sandbox level editor. You can place any kind of block and resize them how you see fit and add any of the characters or one of the prebuilt block sets. While the majority of block sets are fairly uninspiring the good ones will help drive your ideas and power your creations. Some rudimentary ideas include domino sets, from turns to raisers and others including catapults, firework launchers and a pirate ship with cannons. Having all these blocks, characters and the player interacting in a sandbox environment is a highly entertaining experience.
Unfortunately the create mode lacks both cooperative building and online. It is possible to trade levels over the internet via WiiConnect 24 but much like other WC24 applications it is so limiting its almost completely useless. You will need to send the file individually to each friend and with a 200kb per day limit you will run out after sending only a few. The lack of cooperative level creation and online downloads is disappointing because they would have extended the lifespan and value of Boom Blox significantly
Spielberg’s first ever video game is a hit and is an absolute must play for advocates of the new Wii control philosophy. Some gamers are rightfully apprehensive towards casual games, but their fears can be put to rest where Boom Blox is concerned. It provides a solid single player and multiplayer experience with plenty of original ideas. The simple principal of knocking over blocks has been fully explored in the variety of game modes, block types and characters leaving only a handful of criticisms. The quality of the puzzles could have been more consistent and the online features needed some vast improvements but overall it is good value for a budget priced game. At the end of the day Boom Blox shines as an example of what all casual games should strive to be. If you find dismantling blocks appealing Boom Blox is for you.
