The idea of Steven Spielberg and EA getting together and designing a game should conjure up thoughts of some epic fantasy tale, or action packed adventure. But instead, what we basically have here is Jenga.
But wait - this game has taken that game's basic concept, strapped a rocket booster to it, and fired it into a pack of laughing hyenas!
Within us all lies the urge to destroy, and Boom Blox Bash Party plays on this primal desire. There is nothing as satisfying as bashing stuff to bits, and being the second in the series, this game takes the concept to whole new level.
Part puzzle and part action, the basic concept is to remove blocks from a structure. Bash, pull and smash are the basics familiar to fans of the previous game, but now you can add to the equation slings, cannons and colour changing paint balls. These additions have imbued the game with lots of variation.
By using your controller you can pan your view around the structure and take aim at a specific block. The controls are surprisingly smooth in this regard, although a steady hand is required when aiming. Click, hold and swing sends your bowling ball into the pile of bricks, at which point gravity and physics take over and the bricks start tumbling. Alternatively, you can grab a brick and pull. In a throw-back to snooker, you can take aim at block characters (the cube shaped inhabitants) and careen them into a supporting truss.
Some games are about only knocking out your colours, while others can be about clearing bricks out of the way to expose gem bricks. Expose exploding bricks, and you can cut a path of destruction through rubble. Virus blocks, when hit, can infect others and create a chain reaction for devastating results. Throw into the mix zero-gravity and underwater levels, and you have a game that keeps you coming back for more.
Where the game really shines is in multiplayer. There is versus and co-op, and both require a lot of strategy to be successful at. Do you go for your bricks in the smash-and-bash tactic, or do you try to cover your opponents bricks hoping they will make a mistake? Who will get the big scoring centre block in the pile? A game can turn in your favour on just one throw, as you watch your opponents piece teeter on the edge, or a piece you have hit slowly rolls into a major supporting brick. Act quickly and you can smack it out of the way before it gets there. Games can quickly degenerate into brick flinging mayhem.
The game has a lot of replayability - the achievements system alone challenges you to go back and better your solo scores. Games are short and punchy, so they are easy to pick up and put down when you have a spare few minutes. Where it rattles the world of demolition games though is in the ability to design your own levels and share them on the internet. An easy-to-learn level creator means anyone can create fiendishly difficult levels to challenge their friends.
The graphics are what you would expect on the Wii, unpretentious, bright and full of fun. The bricks are, well, ”blocky”, with angles and perspectives that are easy to determine. Not spectacular graphics, but the whole package is done in such a way that says “play me”.
There are games that you play once, clock and never play again, there are those that may hold your attention for a few months, then there are the classics that years from now you will pick up, smile and just have one more bash at. This is one of those games. Make sure that it's part of your game collection.
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