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De Blob 2

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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

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams

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THQ has teamed up with Nickelodeon to bring us Tak 2, The Staff Of Dreams. Now before you groan about the fact that this is a sequel, or based on intellectual property which is made to sell kids toys, give the game a go – I was pleasantly surprised and discovered a great game for kids and grown ups alike. It’s got all the fun stuff that kids love doing, such as running, double jumping, floating, and of course fighting, as well as some very clever puzzles to solve which may stump even the brightest “kid”, but with perseverance and correct timing, can be solved.

The original Tak was never made available for Xbox, so I don’t really know the back story, but from what I can gather Tak is a “chosen one” type warrior of the Papanunu tribe, and he and his friends saved a Moon Goddess’ stones from the evil Tlaloc in the previous game. In this adventure, Tak starts off in the Dreamworld, and he’s asked by a Dream JuJu (JuJu’s are the gods of this world) to rescue a princess who’s locked in a distant and dark tower. Clichéd it may be, but it sets up the other game world action nicely, as you journey through the “real world” in order to see your shaman friend Jilboba’s brother, known as JB (gedit? Jilboba’s Brother… JB).

The Dreamworld is brightly coloured, and kind of soft and spongy. As you jump and glide through the world, you make plopping noises every time you land on a surface. It’s filled will all manner of nightmare creatures, but the JuJu, the mystical floating star thing guides you through the world, telling you how to combat the monsters. At the end of every dreamworld level there is usually some kind of boss that is easy enough to dispatch with your staff and bolas. But as well as find the princess, you have to figure out who or what the JuJu is and why they’re being so helpful.

The “Real World” is much like what you’ve seen in the updated version of Pitfall – lush green forest environments with streams and hazardous cliffs. The fauna residents of the real world, ranging from bears to skunks to boars and crocodiles all have a part to play in getting you to your goal, whether that is to help or hinder you. Tak is well equipped to fight with his staff and bola and JuJu magic. But in spots of real bother Jilboba’s flea form can help by throwing him at animals and either biting them to get them to do some action, or put them to sleep so they no longer bother you. In addition to fighting or avoiding animals, there are some puzzles that you have to solve with each type of animal. For example, with a bear, you’ve got to lead it to honey so you can use his belly as a trampoline.

On top of the animals are you’ve also got to deal with the evil inhabitants of the forests that the Papanunu people call home – the Woodies. These inhabitants will try to stop you from getting to JB’s by setting nefarious puzzle traps that you have to solve, as well as simply just pummel you. There are various types of Woody, from the foot soldiers that are easy to dispatch, to the Shaman that can bring other Woodies back to life, and the brutish soldiers wielding massive clubs.

The levels are varied enough to keep even the most ADD stricken child entertained, ranging from simple platform jumping and problem solving, to sailing down rivers in barrels. There’s even a nod to Donkey Kong as you have to avoid falling barrels in one section. To add spice to the game, some arena and vehicle scenarios have been thrown in. The arena combat is simple enough, but the vehicle combat involves doing jumps at speed, shooting and avoiding enemy fire all at once and is quite challenging. There are some rather nefarious puzzles that will tax your brain more so than other platform games, but it’s never too hard, keeping you hooked with a desire to beat the game just that little bit more.

Like most platformers, there is a stack of things to collect, and these can be used in the pause menu to unlock various minigames, which can be played one or two player, extending the fun after the fairly lengthy single player levels have been completed. To unlock the various minigames, you collect magic gold scrolls on your journey through both the Dream and Real worlds, plus you can simply mix ingredients and hope for the best.
The characters in Tak 2 are all very colourful and cartoony, and the levels are bright an expansive, although they’re very linear as like most other platform games there’s only one real path to completing your goals. The Xbox isn’t pushed to its limits with regards to the graphics, and at times it’s mutliplatform heritage does shine through, but it’s never glaringly ugly. There are issues with the camera not being able to show you what you need to see at times, although these are encountered with any platform game, so can be overlooked.

The music in the game is all original, and suits the action well, although it’s no where near the quality of Voodoo Vince for instance. The voice acting is superb however. One of the coolest things about Tak2 is its humour. Patrick Warburton (Seinfield, the Dish) wonderfully portrays Tak’s half-witted friend Lok, and the scenes with Lok are absolutely hilarious. There’s all manner of wacky silliness going on throughout the whole game, but it never devolves into being too childish or demeaning. Even such an obvious joke with the bad guys being called “Woodies” is not acted upon, and this restraint is refreshing as it shows the designers are aware that penis puns aren’t the only things that make people laugh.
The game is unapologetically aimed at kids, and some may find the hand holding a little tedious earlier in the game, but it does drop off towards the later stages. However, despite the handholding, there is something wrong in that the game doesn’t save at checkpoints or anything, so if you forget to save and then quite your game, you will lose all your progress! This oversight can lead to frustration if the game isn’t saved often.

Conclusion
All in all Tak2: Staff of Dreams is an enjoyable romp through a bright and colourful world with some really likable characters and enough variance in the gameplay to keep you playing for a good few days. It stands above the other platform based games by refusing to bow to the lowest common denominator – sure it’s made for kids, but the puzzles and levels are designed to give a challenge. Through the humour you grow to like the characters, and because of this the game feels a lot more solid than other titles aimed at the younger market.

Pros
– Funny and well conceived characters and game universe
– Challenging and varied gameplay to suit children and adults alike
– Lots of unlockables for multiplayer

Cons
– Doesn’t automatically save your progress
– Can have camera issues
– Handholding is a little too much in earlier levels

80/100

Review, Video Games, Writing, XboxWorld

The Punisher

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What would you do if you were an ex Vietnam Vet, and your entire family got wiped out in a Mob hit, and the police were unable or unwilling to help you? Would you sit back and allow the criminals to overrun your city, infesting the streets, hurting innocents and mocking you with their brazenness? Or would you put your years of training and fighting to the test, become a vigilante and start taking the law into your own hands?

In THQ and Violition’s The Punisher, you take on the role of Frank Castle, Ex-Marine turned vigilante in order to give pain back to the bad guys. No spandex tights and mask for this mean dude, he wants people to know who he is and know what he’s going to do to you if you get on the wrong side of him. He beefed up, found a really cool looking transfer to iron onto his t-shirts, and became the Punisher.

And there’s a whole lot of pain to be dealt. The Punisher is no ordinary superhero, fighting for justice, or truth, or the American Way. He’s a dark, brooding, gritty, mean and angry man, and wants revenge on the mob gangs who killed his family, and won’t let anyone get in the way of his revenge. This game is very much aimed at the mature gamer, and it shows from the very opening scene, as The Punisher brutally shoots his way out of the Takagi building before surrendering to police. Yes, The Punisher nods it’s head to the storytelling device made infamous by Tarantino, and, like a Tarantino story there is a great deal of violence and bloodshed, but this is backed up by an engaging storyline and strong lead character.

The story, from acclaimed Punisher comic book writers Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti, slowly unwraps itself as you move through the game. A cutscene plays before each level, showing an interrogation situation with two cops drilling The Punisher for information about what he has done – and what you are about to play out. This device works really well, making you want to play through the game to find out exactly what is happening, to find out why has The Punisher allowed himself to be captured, what he has done to be incarcerated, and who he’s going to kill next. But more than being a cheap plot device, the story is actually interesting and engaging as well.

The gameplay itself is really quite simple, but it is also quite a lot of fun. Each of the 16 levels sees the Punisher go from point A to point B shooting everything that moves. The controls are standard Shooter fare – Left Joystick moves, Right looks about, and the Right Trigger fires while the Left Trigger throws grenades. To assist you in this task is over 20 different weapons, although not all of these are available to you at first. There’s your usual fare of pistols and shotguns and automatic rifles, plus a couple of bigger weapons like flame throwers and anti-tank guns. To bring more pain to the bad guys, The Punisher can wield two weapons at once, but only two weapons of the same sort. He can also ‘precision aim’ (or use the sniper scope) by clicking the right joystick for all those important headshots. This is also handy when the bad guys have a human shield of their own, as the only thing you’re not allowed to shoot is an innocent.

To make the game deeper, you are given style points for being creative with your kills and avoiding being shot. To avoid being hit, you can dodge / dive with the B button, and crouch by depressing the left joystick. You can also grab nearby enemies with the A button, and used them as shields and toss them through closed doors. The more bad guys you kill without being hit, the higher your multiplier can go, and the more points you get. These points can be exchanged for better armour, health, scopes, attached grenade launchers, bigger ammo clips and so forth. They also grant you medals that unlock the extra content, which, if you’re a fan of the Punisher comics is a real treat.

But this would all be humdrum if it wasn’t for quick kills and interrogations. Pressing the X button when near or when holding a bad guy will result in a quick kill. For these, Violition pulls out a massive number of animations, from execution style pistol to the head, to knife through the skull, to shoving a grenade in their mouth and watching their heads explode. They’re all violent, and all look very slick and cool, and it is fun to run through a level and see how many you can do. There’s also a “Slaughter” Mode, engaged by the Y button, which is kind of a Max Payne style bullettime where The Punisher pulls out his knife and simply runs amuck. Like Max Payne, this time is limited, and you refill the meter in the same way you get Style points.

At anytime you have hold of an enemy, you can press the A button to interrogate them. There are four different types of interrogation – Choke, Face Smash, Punch and Gun Stress, corresponding to the direction of the joystick, and when you activate this mode a stress meter appears. By moving the joystick up and down, you move the meter into the yellow stress zone, and keeping it in this zone will cause the bad guy to break. The average bad guy will tell you generic things like “Jigsaw will kill you”, or will set of a memory which unlocks a still from the comic books. Then there are those with the White Skull above their heads, who will divulge better information, like how to get out of a room, or where certain things or people are, and so on.

In addition to this, there are also special interrogation areas around the map. These are located with a White Skull, and these areas are where the gruesome interrogations come in. They can only be used once, but they are mighty fun. There are things such as bandsaws, deep fryers, ledges over shark-infested waters, wood chippers, and a whole host of other deadly spots where The Punisher can extract information. Once you’ve extracted the information, you’re meant to let the bad guy go, but it is far more fun to simply let them have it and kill them, and watch their animated death. If you do this, you lose style points, and the screen turns black and white in order to maintain it’s MA15+ rating. Some people see this form of censorship as wrong, but I think it adds to the overall feel of the game. There’s also Special Kill area, marked with a Gold Skull, and these grisly places of death offer no punishment to you for utilising them.

The Punisher looks good too. As mentioned, the mood of the game is dark, and this is reflected in the gritty set design in all the levels. Even the bright neon in some levels have a drabness to them. There are a wide variety in the levels, from the close quarters of a Russian frigate and downtown crackhouse to the openness of an outdoor military compound, allowing a bit of variety and strategy to come into play – do you take your assault rifle or shotgun? There is also a lot of nice set dressing, especially later in the game, and whilst not being fully interactive, there are some props and glass walls that can be shot and blown about the place. The Punisher himself is very well modelled, and looks mean in his leather jacket. The bad guys look a little stiff at times, but when you face the bosses all of them are well conceptualised.

Sound wise the game is good too. The Punisher, voiced by Tom Jane who played the lead role in the 2004 Punisher movie, is deep voiced, reflective and almost philosophical at times. He narrates over the action much in the same way Max Payne did, and there are quite a few amusing lines thrown in here and there. The screams and pleadings of the bad guys can be funny too, especially during interrogations as you get closer to breaking them. The music in the game is suitably comic book action style – it reminds me of the Batman movies and Max Payne games, and suits the action in the game very well, when you notice it over the gunfire of course. The gunfire is perhaps not intense as it should be, considering the amount that happens, and at times it is difficult to know when you are being hit by bullets because there are so many flying about.

Conclusion:
The Punisher is an enjoyable, if somewhat short (about 10 hours), action shoot ’em up. It’s relatively easy too, but incorporates some interesting, if somewhat violent, gameplay ideas that work really well. The violence in The Punisher game is over the top, like the comic it is based on. It never seems overly disturbing like in the game Manhunt, and you never feel that you are playing anything other than a comic based game. The censorship that has come into the game actually adds to the overall feel, but I can see this game grabbing the attention of those who think violent games are a the end of civilisation as we know it, so expect this to go the way of Manhunt in a few months.

Pros:
– Simple yet fun run and gun style gameplay, with an engaging storyline
– The interrogations are and interesting gameplay device, and fun to execute
– The Style Points and Medals offer incentive to play through again
– Lots of unlockables, in-jokes and references to the Marvel Universe for the comic freaks

Cons
– Quite violent, so don’t let the kids play it
– Quite easy to get through on the default setting, and pretty short
– The Boss fights are very easy.

81/100