A couple of years ago Australian developers Blue Tongue released De Blob on the Nintendo Wii. Featuring a lovable main character, a unique colourising mechanic, and awesome, complex soundtrack which grew in structure the more Chroma City became colourised, the game went on to sell more than 700,000 copies, becoming a smash hit on the console, and keeping Blue Tongue in business when so many other Australia companies crashed out. Its sequel has appeared on the real next generation consoles, and despite its “last gen” beginnings, its charm and sweetness make it ideal for any platform.
The plot of the first game had Comrade Black, evil leader of the INKT Corporation, remove the colour from Chroma City, and saw Blob and the Colour Underground restore the city to its colourful, vibrant self. The sequel sees Comrade Black and his INKT Corporation return to wreak havoc upon the population once more. A priest called Papa Blanc is controlling the minds of the populous, tricking them into voting for him, and those he can’t control he uses more nefarious means – electronic hands which push the button to vote for him! De Blob and the Colour Underground expose Papa Blanc as Comrade Black, and fight through the cities zones to wrest control from his INKT Corporation once again.
Blob is a unique creature in the world, able to absorb paint and splat it onto various surfaces. He holds points of colour, and every surface he touches leaps into colour when he comes into contact with it, removing a point. He can also mix paints, jumping into red and yellow to make orange. He also becomes transparent when he touches water. This not only cleans the dirty black ink which litters the landscape and can cover and hurt our hero, but also that which is fired from his enemies guns.
With these basic concepts learnt, the game adds layers upon the basic gameplay each mission. For example, in the first level there are no enemies, just Gradians, poor Chroma citizens locked in egg like suits. They roll out onto the streets once their buildings are colourised, and blob has to jump on them to free them. You target using the left Trigger, and jump on them using the A Button. Later on, this same mechanic is used to jump on paint bots who help Blob mix colours. From there, you learn that certain levers need to be activated in the same way. You combine colours, activate the lever, and it unlocks a certain part of the map.
It’s also used on the Inkies, the main enemies. As you move through the levels, the way to defeat the Inkies becomes more complicated. Some Inkies need to be squashed like the Gradians. Others need to be smashed, and this is done by pressing the Right Trigger instead of the A Button. Smashing always needs Blob to have a certain number of colour points. Some Inkies are colour coded, and you need to be the same colour to destroy them. However, the game is so well designed, the colour is always nearby. An additional trick you learn is when he’s transparent guards tend to ignore him, which is used almost as stealth in some sections.
There are also environmental obstacles. Some remove the colour, some zap paint off blob, some set him on fire, and others ink him. These can be avoided by jumping over them, or in some segments grabbing continently placed powerups which make Blob immune to the environment for a small amount of time. An addition to the sequel is gravity puzzles. By triggering a certain power-up, you go into gravity mode, where you can roll up walls and across the underside of roofs. It’s a little underused to be honest, but this shows the platforming was pretty much spot on the first time, and this simply enhances what is already there.
A new feature in De Blob 2 is Blob goes into buildings to transform them. The outside of these buildings doesn’t change colour when Blob lands on them, and require Blob to be a particular colour and have a certain number of colour points available to him before entering. One he’s the correct size and colour, you target a hole and move inside the building. Once inside, the actions flips the 3D action to a 2D platforming, and Blob has to fight through enemies, and press buttons and activate switches. These sections are equally as well designed and entertaining to play as the open world 3D sections.
There is a time limit, and a number of main objectives need to be done in that time to complete a given segment of the city. However, it’s a very generous time limit, and if you ever need more time you can get time boosts by doing a little exploring, freeing Gradians by colourising the buildings, or wiping out the Inkies which populate the level. Once you finish your main objective, you can complete side quests for the various residents, or move on to the next level. These side missions involve colouring buildings a certain colour, freeing all the Gradians, smashing INKT boxes, destroying all the Inkies, colourising all the trees, and wall rolling to graffiti Comrade Blacks’ propaganda billboards. You can also explore and collect all the power ups and colour atoms. The reward for doing these side quests is not only the usual unlocks and achievements, but also “inspirations” which allow Blob to become more powerful.
And it looks very polished – there’s never a moment when the Wii roots rear its ugly, lower specced head. Everything looks crisp, shiny, and beautiful. The sense of giving life back to the environment as you play is brilliantly executed. The movement of the freed Chroma residents, the bright colours, the funny and very cute cutscenes – I lost it with the one that apes the Tiananmen Square protests – and the squeaky, jibber-jabber voices of the main characters capture a mood that’s enticing and engaging for adults and children alike. A very powerful aspect of this is the music. At first, when the city streets are all grey and sad looking, the music is minimal and forlorn. As Blob rolls through the city, the pace picks up, the music becomes more layered, and by the time you’ve completed the level it is seriously party time.
You can have a friend join the game anytime, and they take control of Pinky, Blobs flying companion, who shoots wads of colour everywhere. Unfortunately this is the extent of the multiplayer, and the only gripe I have with the game. It would have been nice to have seen some kind of live compatibility. A scoreboard, so you could compare your time and scores to other on the friends list, or even the ability to play together over live.
Conclusion:
De Blob 2 is a fantastic, fun game. Its cute characters will have you giggling throughout playing, and the clever game design will have you marvelling at how something pretty simple can be so engaging. There’s enough variety and challenge to never leave you bored, even with the lack of features such as leader boards and online play.
Pros:
FUN!
Cute Characters and engaging world
Simple yet engaging and clever gameplay
Lots to do throughout every level.
Excellent graphically and musically.
Cons:
No online features.
85/100