Boom Blox

Kombo’s Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don’t waste your time. This is why we’ve split our reviews into four sections: What the Game’s About, What’s Hot, What’s Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game’s About
When Steven Spielberg announced that he’d be creating a video game and working with Electronic Arts to do so, the world expected something cinematic, something with a big budget and something with high production values. What the world didn’t expect, however, was a puzzle game involving building blocks. I guess Spielberg thought he’d surprise us — and he has, in multiple ways. Not only were we surprised that he chose to design Boom Blox as his first video game, we are surprised at just how enjoyable and fun the game is.

The entire title is built around the idea of playing with blocks — either building them up or breaking them down. And these blocks — they’re not just normal building blocks. There’s a creative variety of blocks, each of which has its own special characteristic. The variety doesn’t stop there. There are numerous single-player modes, a multiplayer mode and a create-a-stage mode, as well. Spielberg’s debut game might have been created with simplicity in mind, but laziness had nothing to do with it. There’s a lot to play around with in Boom Blox.

What’s Hot
I am the kind of gamer that will always pick the “core” game over a “casual” game — you know, the story-driven, complex, graphically impressive epic. Casual games rarely hold my attention, and more often than not, I stay away (unless I’m reviewing the game, in which case I have to play it, obviously). Boom Blox, however, is the kind of game that I’ll continue to play — even now that I’m done reviewing it. The reason is simple: the game is fun, and just about anyone can play it and truly enjoy it. Additionally, it can be played strategically, which ensures you won’t get bored quickly. I’m sure there are some folks out there that won’t understand the attraction of systematically destroying towers of blocks, but whatever. This game is fun, and chances are you’ll only have to play one round to understand why.

When you think about Wii’s hardware, you probably don’t think about impressive technology, let alone realistic physics. It’s here that Boom Blox surprises yet again. The title’s physics system, which is powered by Havok, is incredibly realistic, and as a result, playing with in-game blocks feels every bit as fun as playing with real-life ones.

Using the Wii-mote, you’ll interact with Boom Blox in a fashion unlike any other Wii game. In some modes, you’ll point on-screen where you want to throw your object (sometimes it’s a baseball, sometimes it’s a bomb and sometimes it’s something else), and then you’ll motion a throw with the remote (without letting go, unless you want to destroy your TV) to throw that object. Other modes, meanwhile, involve carefully removing blocks from skyscrapers of blocks. The Wii-mote perfectly connects you to the game, allowing you to interact with precision. Whatever the rules of the gametype, Boom Blox’s controls are always intuitive and precise. The game might make the best use Nintendo’s motion controller to date, thus far. Interacting with Spielberg’s creation is as easy as can be.

There’s a satisfying collection of modes in Boom Blox, including those based in single-player as well as a fantastic multiplayer mode, which up to four at a time can play. The developer hasn’t just presented level-after-level of playing with blocks, either. There is a story-based adventure mode, which is a nice extra, even if the story is childish and unlikely to enthrall. But the truth is that while the single-player here is entertaining enough, multiplayer is where the game shines. This is a great purchase for those looking for a game that can be played at a party or even with just with friends at home.

Lastly, there is the stage editor, which lets you build your own levels. It’s clear that Spielberg has played with building blocks before and knows that half the fun of doing so is building your own constructions — only to knock everything down as soon as you’re done. The stage editor lets you do that and comes complete with all the tools you need to create whatever you can imagine.

What’s Not
Critiquing Boom Blox is not as easy as other games because there’s very little to complain about. Because it’s a Wii game, the immediate downside is that its graphics are inherently simple, and there’s a lack of special effects and eye candy. Specifically, the backdrops are plain and lack art direction. Worse, on levels with large amounts of blocks, the framerate slows when things start falling all over.

Final Word
Boom Blox might not be the blockbuster, cinematic video game that many — including myself — expected from the mind of Spielberg, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. It’s a game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and preferences. Think you won’t like Boom Blox? I dare you to try it. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.